


i know it hurts (cause i feel it too)

by magichour



Category: TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Attempt at Humor, Best Friends to Lovers, College AU, Fluff, M/M, OT5 Friendship, Pining, Romance, Slow Burn, Unrequited Love (at first), beomgyu is stubborn, beomjun are childhood friends, cause i’m an angst writer lol, fake dating au, fake relationships, lowercase intended, maknae line are still in hs, side tyunning, sorta heavy angst, yeonjun is soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-01-03 18:44:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 87,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21184202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magichour/pseuds/magichour
Summary: yeonjun doesn’t know why he agreed to fake dating his best friend, but he did.it was just friends helping friends, but the second yeonjun starts to feel his chest tighten every time their fingers interlock, and the second he starts hearing his heart beat out of his chest every time he presses his lips against beomgyu’s, he realizes something went awfully wrong when he chose to agree to beomgyu’s idea.and when it’s all over, he sees his boy walk away with someone who is not him. and only then does he realize, not having beomgyu by his side felt lonely.and yeonjun hates feeling lonely.





	1. hiding behind bushes

**Author's Note:**

> hi everyone! if you are new to me, hello! if you are coming over from bottled teardrops, welcome backkk to my second book. (shameless plug, if u are a bts stan as i am, i have a jikook book called bottled teardrops if u wanna check it out! lowkey angsty though) 
> 
> with that out of the way, i just wanted to say thank you for clicking and giving this book a chance. this will be a fake dating au, and i was planning on writing this for a long time but scrapped it. long story short, that scene in run away where beomgyu is nuzzled in yeonjun’s neck in the library, yeah that made me revive this book so everyone say thank you run away mv haha
> 
> just a little intro, i am kinda an angsty writer but i don’t know how much of it i’ll put into here yet. you’ll have some idea of my angst preference if ur currently reading my other book bottled teardrops!
> 
> and i did this with my other book too, but usually i’ll see how the first chapter goes and if ppl actually like it, i’ll continue writing it so i don’t know if this book will sail just yet hahaha
> 
> also, in my other books i LOVE to keep my readers involved and communicate with them a lot so in my other book that i’m currently writing, i do question of the days to learn more about my readers so please let me know if that’s something you’d be interested in i usually do three per chapter but since this is the first chapter i’ll only do one. 
> 
> here’s your qotd for today!:
> 
> what’s your favorite track on the dream chapter: magic?
> 
> with that being said, please enjoy the first chapter of i know it hurts! 
> 
> please comment and let me know if i should continue the book!

“get fucking down! he’ll see your tall ass!”

beomgyu desperately pulls yeonjun down by the collar as they crouch down behind a bush, trying to spy on and discern who jihyun was speaking to at 10am on saturday morning. a time where yeonjun would much rather be tucked away in bed and cuddled up in his blankets rather than enshrouding behind a three foot bush filled with webs and debris.

jihyun was a boy who was attending the same college that beomgyu and yeonjun were currently enrolled in. he was tall and fit with a perfectly sculpted face contrasting his immaculate features. not only that but the man had a god awful brilliant personality with a perfect smile that beamed actual sunlight rays to add onto the list. he had wavy locks, just like the way beomgyu liked and pink plump luscious lips that emulated soft, cushions pillows. he was a modern day living midas. the pinnacle of a perfect man.

he was everything yeonjun wasn’t.

“i’m trying to crouch down lower but you’re taking up so much fucking space!” yeonjun turns to his left, observing the way beomgyu desperately elongates his neck to make out what jihyun and the other man are talking about. “why can’t you just be a normal person and walk up to him and ask him to hang out since you’re ogling him so bad. i can’t believe you ripped me out of my bed on a saturday fucking morning to hide behind a bush just to watch him talk to some guy.” 

beomgyu groans, throwing his head back while looking up to the dull sky, an accurate representation of his current emotions. “hyungggg, you don’t get it! that’ll make me sound so clingy and desperate. i want him to come up to me!” the silver haired boy collides his open palms to his chest as if it were the most obvious thing in the world and yeonjun can’t help but furrow his eyebrows at the strange explanation.

“so you thought spying on him behind a bush on a saturday morning was the way?”

yeonjun desperately slaps on his skin to get rid of the bugs attempting to find refuge on his arm, flicking it away before releasing a sigh far too excessive. “i’m getting impatient, let’s go,” pulling on beomgyu’s arm, yeonjun loses a bit balance, causing the two to rock back and forth creating an indistinct noise of leaves ruffling against each other.

jihyun and the other man’s conversation come to a halt, causing yeonjun and beomgyu to grow nervous. no words were exchanged in the span of thirty seconds, causing dull silence, and yeonjun almost guesses that jihyun and the man have left. it isn’t until he hears footsteps coming their way does he realize that they’ve been caught.

“did you hear that?” jihyun seems to say to the boy he was preoccupied with.

“nice going idiot, you blew our cover.” beomgyu whispers as they bend down further to stay hidden behind the mini bush. he hits yeonjun on the arm out of frustration and that only exacerbates the situation, revealing their hidden plan even more.

“can you like not fucking hit me cause that really-”

“beomgyu?”

the two withheld on their bickering because jihyun, and the man whom they still don’t know the name of, are hovering over the bush inquisitively pondering over them and yeonjun can’t even come up with a proper explanation as to explain why they’re covered in leaves, hiding behind a bush, in the morning, on a weekend.

“j-jihyun. h-hi...” beomgyu stammers, his voice drastically raising an octave or two higher. he leisurely rises from his crouched position, straightening his clothes before wiping his sweaty palms against his slacks. yeonjun tries to bite back the chuckle that he feels coming up his throat.

“uh.... whatcha doing?” jihyun patronizingly says, and only then does beomgyu’s lips quiver, searching for an answer that even yeonjun couldn’t find.

“oh uh,” he stalls, communicating with yeonjun using his eyes, but the older boy seems to have nothing as well.

“we uh... we’re part of the nature club!” beomgyu’s suddenly exclaims, holding his pointer finger up in the air. “we’re looking for some insects and animals y’know, to save when they’re in the wrong environment. and sometimes we like to observe the new plants growing around and pluck the weeds that harm our environment!” yeonjun was impressed at beomgyu for being able to lie straight through his teeth. was is believable? not quite. but could an airhead like jihyun fall for it? possibly.

“huh, i didn’t know we had a nature club...” the man next to jihyun ponders, with a hint of suspicion behind his tone.

“oh, of course we do! yeonjun-hyung was the one who told me about it and we just had to join.” the sudden mention of his name snaps yeonjun out of his trance, and only then does he realize he has been unconsciously glaring at jihyun. “right, hyung?”

“oh... uh, yeah. we do. it’s a cool club.” he says all without holding any eye contact with jihyun being completely uninvolved in the conversation, getting sidetracked by the bugs seeking to rest on his skin.

“cool, so you guys just go out and like observe nature and save animals when they’re in their wrong environment?” jihyun questions, sparking interest which seems to excite beomgyu just a bit. the plan seems to be going well yeonjun thought, only that this was a fake club that jihyun was interest in joining and he had to find a way to convince him that it was real.

“uh, yeah... i mean, sometimes we like plant trees and you know... like i said, save animals and all but yeah. which is why we were behind that bush because we saw a little duck that wasn’t suppose to be there.” the laugh that yeonjun was trying to hold in becomes more difficult to suppress due to the fact that beomgyu’s lies were just getting unrealistic from there, and it was absurd that jihyun was even falling for them.

“oh, that’s awesome! saving nature and animals are so cool.”

“yup, it’s what we do!” the silver haired boy smiles, causing his eyes to crinkle and disappear into thin lines.

“b-but, he just killed a mosquito...” jihyun’s friend stutters, pointing at yeonjun. “i thought you guys helped save nature,” he hesitantly says, “not kill them.” 

“oh, this?” he says, trying not to gag at the dead mosquito stuck to his palm. “mosquitoes damage the environment and ruin the ecosystem, so i basically did us a favor.” yeonjun had no clue if the information he was spouting out was true in any sense (probably not), but if jihyun were gullible enough to believe beomgyu’s lies, he wouldn’t hesitate to believe any of yeonjun‘s.

“oh well, in that case, that’s great! this club sounds cool doesn’t it, byungwoo?” _oh, so that was his name._ jihyun nudges his friend by the shoulder who unenthusiastically nods, feigning interest. “what’s the name of the club? i’d love to join as well.”

_of fucking course. jihyun was an angel who liked to save nature and sacrifice his weekend to dedicate his time to plant seeds and save animals. just perfect._

yeonjun and beomgyu toss each other worrisome looks because they’ve kept the lie going on so far, there wasn’t any time to simply give it up now.

“uh, it’s called...” yeonjun trails.

“it’s called conserve to preserve!” beomgyu suddenly whips out, and quite frankly, yeonjun has to applaud him when they get home because it was quite believable. it wasn’t the best, award-winning name but it was better than nothing.

yeonjun tries his best not to giggle at the corny name, pushing the tip of his tongue on the inside of his jaw to fight back the laughter that was trying to seep its way through. he had no idea how beomgyu came up with the name so damn fast, but then again beomgyu was a mysterious boy. 

“cool, i’m gonna have to check it out! do you wanna like exchange numbers or something so i can ask you more about it?” jihyun asks beomgyu while pockets his phone.

yeonjun looks at beomgyu who’s licking his lips and swallowing excessively. he instantaneously whips his phone out from his back pocket, and yeonjun almost thinks beomgyu’s hand is shaking a bit. “u-uh... y-yeah, sure. of c-course. here’s my phone.”

the two hand each other their phones, and yeonjun and byungwoo awkwardly look at each other, sinking their hands in their pockets as they wait for the other two to exchange numbers. yeonjun quickly tears his gaze away from byungwoo every time they accidentally catch each other’s eyes and the silence is deafening. he feels like he needs to scream or something to cut the tension.

“okay, cool. well text me sometime beomgyu, and it was nice meeting you uh....”

“yeonjun,” he monotonously says, stifling an eye roll.

“right, yeonjun.” he corrects himself.

“well byungwoo and i are gonna get ready for our date, so you two have fun!” he blatantly says before taking byungwoo’s hand in his and walking away, until all that’s evident is their backs turned away from the both of them.

“date....” beomgyu whispers to himself, kicking the stone on the ground far too aggressively than needed as he watches the two men disappear into the street with their fingers interlocked.

“let’s go to the car now and go home,” yeonjun softly says, resting his hand on the middle of his back to ease his temper at the sudden unsolicited admission.

“don’t touch me,” the smaller boy angrily says, shooting a baleful glance towards yeonjun’s direction, threatening him with a menacing tone.

“okay, i won’t. but c’mon, let’s get you home.” he pitifully says, refraining from giving him any comforting touch, knowing beomgyu gets a little cranky when upset.

the smaller boy marches his way through the parking lot during his way to the car with his arms crossed. if that wasn’t enough, his bottom lip was distantly jutted out as his eyebrows were knitted together in aggression. yeonjun circles his way assiduously around the car to open the car door for beomgyu, who in turn superfluously groans before pulling on the impatiently on the handle, waiting for yeonjun to unlock the door.

yeonjun hops in the driver seat before beomgyu belligerently shuts the car door. “woah, calm down. this car is too old for it to be shutting that hard.” he humorously jokes in attempts to lighten the tense atmosphere. it was no secret that beomgyu was clearly upset at jihyun’s sudden admission but there was really nothing yeonjun could do. it’s not like he could run to jihyun and tell him to cancel the date with byungwoo and go with beomgyu instead, but at the same time he wishes he could do just that because seeing his best friend so down ached his heart just a bit.

afraid to say anything that would trigger one of beomgyu’s outbursts, yeonjun goes with the safe side and decides to twist the volume knob to occupy the defeating silence in the car. the soft sound of music starts infiltrating the thick atmosphere, eliminating the awkward tension in the tight space. “turn that down, it’s too happy.” beomgyu pouts, cupping his ears at the upbeat pop song. 

“too happy? i’m not gonna turn it down, i like this song.” gently resting his hand on beomgyu’s thigh, yeonjun says it all while keeping his eyes glued to the road because he knew beomgyu always scolded him from holding eye contact while driving. he claimed it was “dangerous” and that “keeping your eyes on the road at all times” was an essential key of driving.

“fine, then i won’t listen,” he maliciously spits, glaring at yeonjun but he thinks it’s too cute to look scary. there’s something about a teenage boy pouting that eliminates any factors of him being scary, and beomgyu was a professional pouter, yeonjun claims.

“okayyy... i’m not asking you to,” he says while tapping his fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of them music. “look, i know you’re upset but at least you got his number.... we can find you someone el-”

“shut up! i don’t wanna talk about it right now.” beomgyu’s raised tone startles yeonjuna bit causing him to remove his hand from beomgyu’s thigh and placing it on the steering wheel instead.

“okay, okay. we won’t talk about it, i’m sorry.”

“you’re so annoying,” he hisses, crossing his arms.

“damn... i said i’m sorry.”

“whatever, and can you turn on the air, i’m hot.” he complains, and yeonjun must think he’s going crazy because the sky was dull, full of gray with heavy clouds, so it definitely wasn’t the weather to have the ac on. 

“what? it’s a bit cold out, don’t you think? and we’ll be at our apartment in like five minutes, can’t you wait it out or something?”

“fine, i’ll just roll down the window and get the air myself then.” he stubbornly says sticking his head out the window turning his back to yeonjun to show how greatly upset he really was with him and yeonjun felt every bit of guilt in him, even if he knew that’s what beomgyu was aiming for. 

yeonjun struggles to keep his eyes on the road while looking out for beomgyu who had his whole head sticking out the window. “hey, come on, get back in here. you’re gonna get sick, beomgyu,” yeonjun pleads, softly pulling the silver haired boy back in, though he quickly shoves away yeonjun’s touch.

“i don’t care,” he pouts.

“well i care. so get your head back in here before you get sick.”

“fine,” crossing his arms, beomgyu pouts at yeonjun and the older boy can’t help but coo at the disastrous mess sitting on top of beomgyu’s head.

“look at you... you looks so cute, see now your hair’s all a mess. i told you not to stick your head out the window but you decided to be so stubborn,” yeonjun scolds him as he runs his fingers through the silver locks, in hopes of fixing the messy hair.

“stop, don’t touch it! you’re only ruining it more,” complains beomgyu, patting down his strands.

“geez, fine.”

with the remaining two minutes of the car ride, yeonjun opts on keeping his mouth shut because any possible thing he says seems to irritate beomgyu.

and getting on beomgyu’s bad side was never good.

* * *

yeonjun patiently watches beomgyu slip his key into their apartment lock, though he was having a difficult time doing so since he was being far too aggressive with the key, jamming it into the keyhole.

“fucking finally,” he groans when it finally opens. the younger rushes his way into the apartment, collapsing onto the couch before yeonjun even has the chance to kick his off his shoes.

“oh, yeonjun. your brother’s here, hi kai.” he nonchalantly says, before burying his head into the couch pillow and screaming into it.

huening kai was one of yeonjun’s two brothers. he was the youngest one who was always pestering yeonjun and beomgyu ever since they were in diapers, so it was a little breathe of fresh air to have moved out but yeonjun would be lying if he said he didn’t miss the excessive bugging the younger possessed, which is why he gave him a key for whenever he wanted to come over.

“huening kai, what are you doing here? and where’s your brother?” soobin was yeonjun’s other brother. when yeonjun moved in with beomgyu, kai and soobin got a place of their own, sharing an apartment with beomgyu’s (other) best friend, kang taehyun.

“he’s doing homework on a saturday morning. what a nerd, i know,” huening kai snorts, causing beomgyu to release a muffled chuckle as well, head still buried deep into the couch pillow. “but i’m here because beomgyu-hyung promised me he’d teach me how to play the guitar. you’re late by the way.”

beomgyu discards his head from the pillow, revealing faintly marked lines on the side of his face caused by the fabric. “i did?” he asks, scratching his head. “shit, that’s right. i did. sorry huening kai, give me a few minutes i need to cry first.”

“uh, what’s wrong with him?”

yeonjun shrugs, pulling a water bottle out of the fridge before sitting next to his brother.

“remember that boy he’s been having heart eyes for?” yeonjun asks, lying back on the couch using huening kai as a foot rest.

“yeah, uh.... jihyun was it?”

“yup. beomgyu and i just found out he has a date while we were spying on him behind a bush.” hueningkai opens his mouth to say something but yeonjun holds his hand up and shakes it to dismiss the topic, “don’t ask why we were spying on him behind a bush...” 

“o...kay?”

“yeah and your brother here is being annoying about it,” the younger boy lifts his head from the pillow to speak, before burying his head in it once again when he says what he needs to say. “and he’s a meanie.”

“hey, you were the one who woke me up early in the morning to come with you, tricking me that we were going out for breakfast but instead i hid behind a bush getting bitten by mosquitoes for a whole hour, so lose the attitude.” yeonjun hated going all big brother mode on any of his friends, but sometimes it had to come out.

“see what i mean?” beomgyu says, looking at kai. “a meanie.”

“okay. well, beomgyu, you can come talk to me when you’re ready and not acting like a toddler,” he condescendingly says, “and kai, stay as long as you want. just, both of you keep it down with the guitar and stuff. i’m gonna go back to sleep since _somebody_,” he emphasizes, widening his eyes and raising his eyebrows accusingly at beomgyu, “woke me up from my sleep.”

“okay, hyung.” huening kai says before lying down on the couch.

yeonjun finds his way to his room, wincing at the cold hardwood floor coming in contact with his bare feet. releasing a loud sigh, he collapses onto his bed, finding difficulty to fall back asleep.

with twenty minutes of just lying there, the sound of a guitar strumming slowly starts to bounce off each wall, and the fact that he and beomgyu lack furniture causes the acoustics of the room to appear more evidently. closing his eyes, yeonjun focuses on the instrument. he could tell that it was huening kai playing and not beomgyu. it’s not that kai was terrible at the instrument, but he always knew whenever beomgyu was playing. it was melodic and smooth to his ears, it felt like honey swimming it’s way through the atmosphere. huening kai on the other hand was a bit more hesitant approaching the notes, and that was how we was able to distinctively tell the difference in who was playing at the moment. needless to say, the soft strums still sounded beautiful.

closing his eyes, yeonjun fell asleep to the soft sounds of guitar strums infiltrating the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little slow i know, but it’s the first chapter so i didn’t want to give away too much!! 
> 
> i will see based on the feedback if i will continue this books bc obviously i wouldn’t want to put out a book that will bore everyone ahhaha
> 
> just a quick reminder, if angst isn’t your thing, this book might not be for u but there will be fluff too, it’ll just take time since this is a slow burn as well. but hopefully you guys give my book a chance, and i do accept constructive criticism so feel free to tell me!!
> 
> i’d love to know what you guys think in the comments below so please tell me what you think!! 
> 
> feel free to participate in the qotds if u want, so we could learn more about each other and let me know if you’d like me to continue the book!


	2. bad idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone! so i’ve decided to write another chapter since a couple of you have seemed to enjoy the story! again, this will be pretty angsty and if i do do plan to continue this story, it’ll be pretty fucking long so if that’s not ur cup of tea, this book might not be for you. 
> 
> a couple of you answered my qotd in the first chapter too so let me know if i should continue it! in my other book, i do three per chapter but i’ll do two as of now
> 
> here are ur set of qotds: 
> 
> 1.) who’s your bias and bias wrecker? 
> 
> 2.) confession time! what is one thing your wrongly assumed of the boys when you first found out about them? (e.g: tbh i thought soobin was the oldest lmfaooo) 
> 
> happy reading!! <33

yeonjun wakes up to warm breaths tickling his neck.

he looks to his side to see beomgyu tucked into the crook of his neck, the region behind his ear and shoulder blade. the younger boy had his mouth slightly parted, releasing soft snores. yeonjun wonders why in the world beomgyu was cuddling with him when just a couple of hours ago, the boy was pouting and giving him attitude.

inchmeal, yeonjun scrupulously moves his arm to aid the cramp slowly growing, shifting an inch in fear of waking up beomgyu. of course, the silver haired boy was a light sleeper so it was only in a matter of seconds that the sleepy boy winks one eye open to look at yeonjun. 

beomgyu nuzzles deeper into yeonjun’s neck before pulling away, stretching at the uncomfortable position he slept in. 

rubbing his eyes, he sits up on yeonjun’s bed and groans. giving yeonjun his puppy eyes, the boy juts his lip out. 

“hyung, i’m sorry i was being a brat earlier,” he sighs. yeonjun sits up at the admission, scooting closer to beomgyu who struggled to keep his eyed open. “god, i was just so mad and i don’t know why. i shouldn’t have taken it out on you though, i was acting like a brat. and i do appreciate you for waking up early on a saturday morning for accompanying me, everyone else would’ve said no. and earlier at the car, i know you were just looking out for me and didn’t want me to get sick. you’re not annoying, i just said that in the heat of the moment.” yeonjun perceives the way beomgyu is a little nervous. the boy was playing with his fingers and couldn’t even look him in the eye. his heart strains at the sudden apology, only because he wasn’t actually mad and beomgyu assumed he was. 

“beomgyu...” yeonjun softly says, turning to him so that they are facing each other. “hey, i’m not mad. i completely understand where your anger was coming from so i was just giving you a little space. and i wasn’t ignoring you, i was just really fucking sleepy because you woke me up at the crack of dawn.” he facetiously admits in hopes of lightening the thick tension. the corner of beomgyu’s lips curl just a bit and yeonjun knows the atmosphere grew lighter at the subtle jab. 

“you’re not mad?” beomgyu coyly says, biting on his nails. 

“i’m not mad. i mean, yeah you were a brat but what’s new? and-”

before yeonjun could continue, he feels a soft pillow colliding with his face. 

“hey, don’t make me take my apology back!” 

yeonjun shoves the pillow away, rubbing on his cheek in attempt to aid the pain. “you didn’t have to throw a pillow at me!” 

“sorry...” beomgyu guiltily apologizes. 

“as i was saying,” yeonjun concludes, still rubbing on his cheek. “you had a right to be upset. i mean, i knew how into him you were but if he can’t see what he’s missing then that’s on him. and plus, we don’t even know if they’re official yet or whatever. who knows, what if their date went really bad and there’s no future dates,” shrugging, yeonjun moves forward to consolingly rub up and down on beomgyu’s arm. 

“i know, hyung. but listen, i was talking to your brother and-”

“wait, which one. please say soobin.” 

“no, i was talking to huening kai when i was teaching him guitar right, and he came up with the bestest estest idea!” the younger boy was wiggling on yeonjun’s bed and balling his fists out of excitement. “but, you have to hear me out....” 

this immediately causes yeonjun to bury his face into his palms. 

anything and everything that came out of huening kai’s brain was completely crazy and absurd. the poor kid’s brain was still growing and taking in information, so yeonjun knew whatever beomgyu was going to say next would be nowhere near intelligent. he loved his younger brother, he really did, but sometimes picking up a book and absorbing information would very much help in his case. that is why yeonjun wishes beomgyu talked to soobin instead. soobin was always a little more open-minded and on the smart side when it came to this kind of stuff. 

yeonjun just thought it was crazy for beomgyu to ask someone younger than him for dating advice when the poor boy hadn’t even gotten the chance to hold a girl’s hand for more than twenty seconds without freaking out, in all of his seventeen years of living.

“beomgyu.... kai is-”

“the smartest boy ever, i know!” yeonjun didn’t want to burst the poor boy’s bubble, but his best friend looked so happy it would kill yeonjun to oppose to his suggestion. 

“no, love.” yeonjun says, in the nicest way possible. “i know my brother, and i know sometimes he sounds like he knows what he’s saying, but trust me. half of the time he doesn’t, so whatever dumb idea he told you, let’s not-”

“i’m literally right here, hyung,” the sudden company of huening kai startles both yeonjun and beomgyu. turning to his left, yeonjun spots kai standing at the door frame, shoulder propped against the wall with his arms crossed. “and you literally haven’t even heard my idea yet so i don’t know why you’re being so mean.” 

“oh, and by the way. i’m staying the night.” the youngest boy drags his feet against the carpet, intruding yeonjun’s room while finding comfort in his older brother’s computer chair in attempt to invite himself into the conversation.

“yeah, yeah. where you sleeping then?” 

“beomgyu-hyung said i can sleep in his room,” kai carelessly says, spinning mindlessly in the chair until he grows dizzy.

yeonjun turns his head to beomgyu, “and you? you’re sleeping with me?” he says, as if he already knows. 

“duh, i barely even sleep in my own room anyways even if kai’s not here.” it was true though, beomgyu always crashed in yeonjun’s room on most nights. most of the time, they would talk till dawn that beomgyu can’t even find the energy to walk seven steps to his room. sometimes beomgyu would ask yeonjun for help on his homework, causing him to pass out next to yeonjun. and sometimes, beomgyu would simply just miss the warmth of yeonjun next to him, slipping under the covers to crawl into his side of the bed. 

yeonjun never minded. 

“i know, i miss sleeping alone. you take up most of the space,” the shove that yeonjun gives beomgyu wasn’t too light, slightly pushing him off of the bed, in which beomgyu returns a shove slightly harder. 

“okay, well can you guys stop shoving each other so that hyung can hear my brilliant idea,” huening kai voices, still spinning endlessly on yeonjun’s computer chair. 

“kai....” yeonjun nervously says, and he swears he could feel his palms growing sweaty. “what the hell did that brain of yours come up with?” 

beomgyu pouts at yeonjun’s sudden words, “a good idea, hyung! just listen...” and yeonjun wanted to do everything but that. he wanted out. 

but he couldn’t say no to beomgyu. 

he could never say no to beomgyu. 

sighing and caving in, yeonjun pinches the bridge of his nose impeding upon huening kai’s idea. yeonjun was unnecessarily groaning into the palm of his hands, hindering beomgyu’s admission of the idea that he claims to be so  fantastic . 

he watches the way beomgyu grows excited just at the mention of it, and that’s when he realizes he always wants to see his best friend smiling. even if it meant following through dumb ideas. as long as the ends of his lips are always curled and as long as the crinkles by his eyes always appear, yeonjun would do anything to make him happy. 

“fine, let’s hear it...” he caves in. “but i’m gonna be brutually honest. so if i feel like it’s stupid... i’m gonna say it’s stupid...” 

“wow.... just cause it’s my idea,” huening kai says, slightly offended while clutching his hand to his chest as if he was wounded.

“nuh uh, i’m just brutally honest like that,” yeonjun retaliates. “so, what was the idea beomgyu?” 

beomgyu apprehensively strays his eyes away from yeonjun’s, playing with his fingers the way he does when he’s always nervous. yeonjun expects beomgyu to discuss the idea that huening kai proposed but all that comes out is radio silence. he was apprehensive in revealing the plan, and it was very evident due to the fact that the silver haired boy had his bottom lip tugged between his teeth and he was no longer sitting comfortably on the bed, though he was at the edge of it, profusely shaking his knee to relieve his anxiousness.

“before you say anything, just hear me out, okay?” holding his hand out in defense, beomgyu gives yeonjun a little warning and yeonjun would be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous at the sudden cautiousness. 

“yeah, of course.” 

“now, you know i love you right?” he says, slightly smiling.

as a best friend, yes.  yeonjun wants to say .

“i love you too, and you know that.” yeonjun nervously says as he rubs his sweaty palms on his thighs. “you’re scaring me.... what is it?” 

huening kai’s spinning in the chair comes to a halt when he realizes beomgyu is about to reveal his “brilliant” idea. 

“okay, well....” 

chewing on the inside of his jaw, yeonjun grows impatient at beomgyu’s stalling and he turns to his side to catch his little brother cupping his mouth, giggling into his hand. he hates that mischievous smirk plastered onto his face and he wants to do everything to slap it off. 

“well? tell me.” 

“i’m just gonna say it.”

“okay, say it.” 

“letsfakedate,” beomgyu hurriedly says, assuming yeonjun wasn’t able to interpret his incoherency through the muffled words. 

but yeonjun’s ears must be deceiving him, because he could’ve sworn he heard the word  date in there somewhere. “w-what...” he stutters. “slower beomgyu, you talk way too fucking fast.” 

beomgyu gives himself what looks like a very short one-second pep talk before releasing a loud sigh. “i said,” he trembles.

“let’s. fake. date.” 

the snickers coming out from huening kai was almost too mocking. the younger boy was finding way too much joy in this than he should have. 

yeonjun will scold him for that later. as of now, he’s trying to decipher whether his ears were playing tricks on him, or if he actually heard beomgyu correctly and if the boy actually proposed an idea for the two of the to fake date. that meant acting like a couples and holding hands, and possibly kissing, and doing grossly domestic relationship stuff. 

yeonjun wasn’t ready for that. 

“you w-what?” he chokes on air. “you want us to fake date?” he clarifies. “how is that going to help?” 

beomgyu nervously scratched the area behind his neck while yeonjun can hear the concealed giggles of his younger brother in the background. he was about to whoop his ass all the way back to his own apartment because  what the fuck was going through his mind when he came up with the idea?

yeonjun was throwing his youngest brother daggers, and he swears he could feel smoke coming out of his ears. 

there was no way he could say yes. yeonjun never said no to beomgyu, and he realizes this might be the first no he tells him. 

it was selfish of yeonjun to oppose to the idea, but he just didn’t hold that much mental capacity in him to feign a relationship with his best friend. he would never be able to hold his hand, knowing it’s not real. he wouldn’t be able to plant delicate kisses on his lips, knowing at the end of the day they were just sweet nothings. he would never be able to stand the fact that he knew none of it was real. that it was all an act. 

beomgyu was asking so much of him. 

“if he sees me and you dating, he could get jealous y’know, and maybe it’ll make him want to-”

“beomgyu, no.” yeonjun bluntly confesses. 

the smile plastered on beomgyu’s face slightly deteriorates and he tilts his head to the side at the sudden rejection. a pit grows in yeonjun’s stomach as he sees the sparkle in beomgyu’s eyes drop. 

“w-why not? it’s not like we have real feelings for each other. and it will only be when we’re around him, to make it-“ 

“beomgyu, i said no. i don’t want to do it.” he says in a more stern tone. 

“why? does acting intimate with me make you uncomfortable?” beomgyu asks in an acrimonious tone. yeonjun’s blood boils at the sudden question. 

“are you kidding me? it’s not even that. beomgyu, it’s the fact that you’re hung over this guy who pays no attention to you and you’re willing to get into a fake relationship with me just to get him jealous! which by the way, we don’t even know if it’s gonna affect him or not. i get that your head over heels for him, but there are other fucking ways than fake dating.” yeonjun was angry because beomgyu wasn’t taking in consideration how he would be feeling in the situation. “if he doesn’t like you, then he doesn’t fucking like you!” 

“you’re a fucking jerk,” beomgyu sniffles, turning around to conceal the tears streaming down his face. “you could’ve just said you didn’t want to do it instead of pulling up some personal shit.” 

“beomgyu.... c’mon, i didn’t mean it like that.” 

huening kai stands in between the both of them, not knowing whether he should reach over and comfort beomgyu, or punch his older brother’s nose in for making beomgyu cry. 

the silver haired boy’s sobs come to a halt, and before yeonjun can even blink, beomgyu rises from the bed and throws his backpack over his shoulder in slight anger. yeonjun couldn’t bare to look at beomgyu at the eye knowing damn well he was the reason for his tears. 

he hated making beomgyu cry. 

“hyung, what the hell...” kai whispers, attempting to hide the words from beomgyu as he storms out of yeonjun’s room. 

“beomgyu, come on! where are you going?” yeonjun yells down the hall as he catches beomgyu throwing a sweater over his head and grabbing his phone and keys. 

“i’m going to taehyun and soobin’s.” he sneers, aggressively tugging on his shoes. 

kai furrows his eyebrows. “you’re going to my apartment?” 

“yeah, i don’t wanna be in the same room as him right now,” he sniffles, using the back of his palm to catch the tears streaming down his face.

“i’m sorry, hyung,” kai consolingly says, walking over to him. “here, take my keys. i’ll stay with yeonjun-hyung tonight.” 

when the door aggressively shuts, yeonjun takes a deep breath in. 

he looks at his younger brother who is guiltily pacing back and forth in their living room. 

“what the hell were you thinking? what the fuck made you come up with that?” tugging at the ends of his own hair, yeonjun belligerently pulls at it out of frustration. 

“hyung, i thought that maybe-”

“you thought that what? that you could help? well, look what you fucking did because beomgyu just left.” 

huening kai furrows his eyebrows at the accusation. 

“woah, woah, hold on,” he defensively says. “it was my idea, sure, i’ll own up to that but i wasn’t the one who made him cry and made him leave so stop pointing fingers.” 

yeonjun hated the fact that is was true. 

“well if you never came up with the idea and brought it to his attention in the first place, none of this would happen! what the hell were you thinking?” yeonjun was standing on his two feet feeling the ground cave in under his heels. his frustration was oozing out of him. 

“to help you!” huening kai combats. 

yeonjun squints at him, “to help me? how the fuck is that helping me?” 

huening kai releases a sigh of defeat, tugging his backpack over his shoulder the same way beomgyu did just a few minutes ago. “you’re way too fucking oblivious, i’m not doing this.” 

yeonjun watches the way his younger brother drags his feet to the door. 

“wait, where are you going? i thought you were staying the night?” yeonjun pleads, fearful of having to spend the night alone. 

“i’m going back home, you’re being a jerk.” 

and for the first time in a long time, yeonjun slept all alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and sooo the angst beginnssss. 
> 
> just joking, this was literally not that angsty and not even bad, so if this was bad for u.... boy do i got a book for u. 
> 
> i’m still not set in stone with continuing this book only bc i have another one i’m writing right now and i don’t want to half ass this book. let me know if you guys would like to see where this book goes and if a lot of people seem to like it i’ll try to write it properly!! 
> 
> don’t forget to tell me ur favorite scenes and participate in in the qotds if you’d like! 
> 
> if you read this far comment “beomgyu has squishy cheeksl hehehhe


	3. iced americanos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone! i’ve seen that people seem to enjoy this story so i’m planning on continuing it as of now. 
> 
> a little disclaimer though, my writing is very mediocre and i am not one of those professional writers so if ur looking for a book like that, this probably isn’t for you hahaha i’ve always loved writing since i was younger but i only just started taking it seriously this year and am only beginning so i apologize if my writing is very sloppy. i’m learning! 
> 
> also if u haven’t noticed, i’ve changed and added some tags. i had a minor mistake, i had a tag “choi line are brothers” bc originally this was suppose to be a taegyu fic but i changed it to beomjun and forgot to take the tag out so super sorry for that mistake! the brothers are yeonjun, soobin, and huening kai obviously hehehe so sorry for the minor mistake! 
> 
> i also appreciate the very sweet comments everyone writes! i respond to all my readers and interact with everyone but i do take a while to respond back bc i get a little busy 
> 
> a lot of you also seemed to like the qotds so i’ll be sure to be incorporating that! i love seeing your answers! 
> 
> here are your set of qotds: 
> 
> 1.) what is your favorite song from them? 
> 
> 2.) when did you join the fandom? 
> 
> 3.) what got you into txt? 
> 
> i’d love to see everyone’s answers! 
> 
> happy reading! <3

yeonjun drives himself to class the next morning in silence. he isn’t listening to songs that him and beomgyu obnoxiously sing the lyrics to every morning. instead, he’s pouting at the vacant seat to his right. he basks in the glory of his time alone, and it isn’t long until he begins to desperately miss the companion of his best friend. he finally plucks the courage to turn the radio on, only for it to be playing beomgyu’s favorite song. internally groaning, he twists the volume knob at zero to attend to the deafening silence. 

he comes to a stop light and rests his forehead against the steering wheel for a good two seconds before looking up at the road again, waiting for the light to turn green. he suddenly becomes aware of the fact that if beomgyu were in the car, he would’ve scolded yeonjun for not keeping his eyes on the road and usually, yeonjun would hate it. but right now, anything from his best friend would suffice, even if that meant the constant nagging. 

once he drowns in another ten minutes of self deprecation, he reaches the parking lot of his university and ignores the way his left side feels colder. beomgyu was always there for warmth but his absence felt so foreign. yeonjun felt like a lost puppy. 

with twenty minutes to kill, yeonjun slouchily walks his way to the student cafe that he and beomgyu always spent time doing their homework in. sometimes they’d fool around and watch tv shows on their laptop instead of actually doing their homework but nevertheless, walking to the cafe alone was a grueling process when yeonjun didn’t have the younger boy talking his ear off at nine in the morning. 

as he’s pulling out his wallet to pay for two of the drinks, he internally curses to himself when he faintly discerns the absence of the silver haired boy. it was muscle memory and a normal routine for yeonjun to order two iced americanos, (one with two sugars) every day, that he doesn’t even realize he wrongly placed the order. he didn’t want to cancel one of the drinks, afraid of being an intrusion to the barista who was awfully busy, so he spends double the price on americanos that day. 

he was off to a great start. 

clutching both of the iced americanos in his hand, he exits the cafe only to hear his name being called in the distance. 

“yeonjun-hyung!” 

he turns around to see his brother running towards his direction. 

“soobin, h-how’s beomgyu...” was the first thing he asks once his brother walks up to him. 

“wow, not even a hi or hello to your own brother?” he jokes, walking by yeonjun’s side. “but, i actually came here to talk to you about that. i knew you’d be at the cafe.” 

furrowing his eyebrows, yeonjun turns to his brother expecting to be interrogated and bombarded with handfuls of questions. but instead, soobin is distracted by the second cup of iced americano in yeonjun’s hand. 

“wait, are you gonna drink that?” he asks, salivating at the cold drink. 

“no, i accidentally ordered two,” yeonjun replies, rolling his eyes at the stupid mistake. 

“great, i need my dose of caffeine.” soobin snatches the americano out of his hand, only for yeonjun to grab it back causing soobin to pout. 

“dude, that’s for beomgyu.” he scolds, holding the iced americano. 

“well, if you haven’t noticed...” soobin says, looking around in his surroundings. “beomgyu is not here because he is mad at you. so it would be a shame to put it to waste, now hand it-”

“i am not giving you this americano. now why are you here? don’t you have a class to be at or something?” soobin reaches over in attempt to steal the coffee, but yeonjun guards the cup with his life. 

“no we’re watching a movie in class today and the teacher said it wasn’t required so here i am bugging you,” he smirks. “anyways, beomgyu slept over last night which was pretty weird considering you guys are always attached by the hip. i asked him about it and he told me what happened and you’re kinda of in a hole hyung.” 

if yeonjun wasn’t holding two cups of americanos in his hand, he would use his vacant one to smack soobin upside the head, but the lord was on his side today. “can you stop reminding me, i know.” 

“hmm... fine.”

“look, what else do you need? i gotta get going to class so unless you’re done bugging me, get lost.” yeonjun liked teasing his brothers, it ran in his blood to bully them, albeit rather jokingly. 

“what the hell? i just wanted to talk to my brother,” he fake cries, wiping his non existent tears under his eyes. “well, i’m gonna go pick up beomgyu from his class now because he took an early one today since he has plans with someone later. did you wanna pass a message?” soobin slyly tries to reach over for the iced americano one last time, but yeonjun quickly pulls it away. 

“yeah, actually. can you give him this?” he favors, holding up the iced americano. “beomgyu gets cranky in the morning when he doesn’t have his coffee.” 

“of courseeee!” soobin over enthusiastically says, leading yeonjun to squint his eyes in suspicion. “gimme it.” 

“if i find out you fucking drank it instead of giving it to him, i’m literally gonna go to your apartment and steal your pastries. don’t forget i have your keys.” soobin’s eyes widen just a smidgen at the threat, attempting to conceal it with an uncaring demeanor, though deep inside he was panicking.

“okay! fine, fine. i’ll give it to him, geez.” he answers in defeat, taking the iced americano from yeonjun’s hands. 

“good, now get lost,” he teasingly jokes, shoving soobin away. 

“bye, hyung. text me, love you,” turning around, he finds his way to the science building before spinning around again, “oh, and don’t forget to talk to hyuka. he’s upset at you too. you know how he gets...” 

“yeah, yeah... love you too. and don’t worry, i will.” 

* * *

after sleeping through three of his classes for the day, yeonjun drives back to his empty apartment, stopping by some smoothie place to get himself a drink to fill the monotony of his day. all that ever does is upset him even more because drinking a strawberry smoothie by himself with no beomgyu felt lonely.

on the drive home, yeonjun dreads going back to the apartment. his favorite part of the day was always coming home to his best friend after a shitty day of exams or a tough day of classes. they would usually end up playing video games, cook some difficult dish using a recipe they found online, or cuddle up in the sofa watching horror movies that they both loved. the unsettling feeling of knowing he would come home to an empty apartment without the presence of his best friend left a pit in his stomach.

the pair have fought before. they’ve had numerous fights. being in a friendship before either one of you can walk led to many years of learning about each other and being together. and inside those many years also came with many fights and disagreements. arguments were no stranger in yeonjun and beomgyu’s relationship, though it was something they knew they could always overcome. the only flaw in this situation is that beomgyu stormed out without contacting and left for the night. whenever either of the two would storm out in the midst of an argument, they’d leave for a couple of hours only to come back before the lights in the bedroom go out that night.

except this time, the argument was a tad bit more serious for beomgyu to return. 

once yeonjun reaches the apartment complex, he takes smaller strides to waste time because time went slower without beomgyu. as he reaches his floor, he groggily slips the key into the hole before releasing an exasperated sigh. 

kicking his shoes off, he doesn’t expect beomgyu to be sitting comfortably on the couch under the covers. 

but beomgyu wasn’t alone. 

under the covers, taehyun was next to beomgyu, cuddled up in his side as they watched some sappy romance film that yeonjun always switched the channel to every time he saw it playing. he was never really a fan of romance films anyways. 

yeonjun clears his throat, gaining the attention of the two who quickly whip their head towards his direction, untangling themselves from each other in a manner of guilt as if they had been caught doing something they’re not supposed to be doing. 

“yeonjun-hyung, hey...” taehyun nonchalantly says, scooting away from beomgyu. 

“tae, hi. what are you doing here?” he gently asks, moving his way towards the living room where beomgyu still refused to look at him, boring his eyes into the tv. 

“oh i’m helping beomgyu-hyung with... something....” 

yeonjun purses his lips in suspicion and pays close attention to the way beomgyu is discreetly scratching his palm, a nervous habit he always held, developing during his younger stages. he doesn’t understand the way the two are suspiciously acting guilty, so he carefully observed their body language, attempting to ignore the atmosphere which was growing painfully thick. 

“beomgyu?” yeonjun says, eyebrows slightly raised with his arms crossed. 

“what,” he snaps, refusing to hold eye contact with yeonjun. 

“what is he helping you with?” 

the silver haired boy halts at the sudden question, hesitancy overtaking his body. he opens his mouth before shutting it again, giving himself a few seconds to speak. 

“taehyun is my fake boyfriend.” 

yeonjun doesn’t know why, but he feels the floor caving in beneath his feet and his heart lodging down into his throat. his chest isn’t supposed to feel familiarly tight at the admission, but it so very much does and no matter how much strength he puts in to attempt to push the thoughts away, it smacks him right back in the face. it’s not supposed to matter so much to him, but it severely does. 

“w-wait, what?” he stammers, chewing on the inside of his jaw, disregarding the familiar taste of metal flooding his mouth once he grasps the idea that he unconsciously bit too hard of the flesh causing the skin to break, oozing little beads of blood swimming on the surface of his tongue. 

“i said, taehyun is being my fake boyfriend,” sighing, beomgyu turns his head to yeonjun, looking at him for the first time since he stormed out last night. “so if you’re done with the questions, can you leave us alone because we’re trying practice, set some rules, and go over a couple of stuff.” 

yeonjun hated that beomgyu dismissed him so quickly. he was never used to being pushed to the side so carelessly. 

“o-oh...” he lets out, eyes boring into the fabric of the carpet on the floor. looking straight at him would only humiliate himself even more. “okay well, i’m gonna go visit the boys’ apartments...”

“okay....” beomgyu trails carelessly. “see you later then.”

“oh, do you need my key hyung?” taehyun chimes in, brightly smiling. 

“no, no... it’s fine. i’ll just knock. thank you, though.” 

* * *

throughout the whole car ride to his brother’s apartment, he holds his steering wheel far too tightly, causing his knuckles to turn white at the excessive squeezing. he didn’t know why he was so angry. 

ignoring the way his blood is boiling, he walks his way up to his brother’s apartment complex, knocking on the door far too aggressively.

as the door opens, soobin looks at him in complete horror. “h-hyung?” he quivers. “uh, you look mad.... are you here to take my pastries because if so, i really didn’t drink the iced americano, i swear! i gave it to beomgyu, ask him yourself!” 

the corners of yeonjun’s lips curl at the sudden reaction of the boy. “no, you idiot. move, i need to talk to kai.” 

“oh my god, thank god,” soobin says, sighing in relief and moving to the side to give yeonjun a walkway. “well go on ahead, he’s in his room sleeping i think. and by the way, he’s really mad at you so good luck with trying to fix that.” 

“shut up, i know.” he irritatedly says, taking a look around their apartment. yeonjun has to physically restrain himself from picking up the wrappers on the floor and washing the dishes in the sink. “my god, you guys need to clean up around here or else i’m telling mom and dad. i’m pretty sure the only one who cleans up around here is taehyun.”

yeonjun was always very thankful of taehyun. the boy was like his younger brother. he was the only person in this apartment who had a brain cell and kept two of the three choi brothers put together. 

soobin flashes his eyes to the right of him, trying to avoid yeonjun’s eyes. “hey, that’s not true....” he lies, bouncing back and forth on the heels of his feet. “we do clean! it’s just, a busy week....” 

yeonjun couldn’t stand the slightest bit of mess around his brother’s apartment. back in his apartment with beomgyu, beomgyu was always strict and tidy about cleanliness, so seeing even just a crumb in their apartment was rare. this on the other hand would have beomgyu going crazy. yeonjun doesn’t understand how he was able to spend the night. 

“keep lying to yourself,” yeonjun smirks. “okay well i’m gonna go to huening kai’s room so go bother someone else.”

walking down the corridor, he slowly lets his feet sink into the soft fabric of the carpet before stopping in front of huening kai’s door, hesitating whether he should knock or not. 

bringing his hand softly to the door, he knocks twice in hopes of kai being awake because that boy was a heavy sleeper and could sleep through a war. once he stands in front of the door for more than twenty seconds, he grows nervous at the fact that that the boy may actually be asleep, but it isn’t until he hears shuffling behind the door does he realize that time is by his side today. 

“soobin-hyung?” kai questions, before opening the door. once the door is opened, he looks at yeonjun disappointed. “oh... you’re not soobin-hyung.” attempting to shut the door, kai moves at the speed of light in hopes of locking out yeonjun, though yeonjun’s quick movements and persistence holds the door open using his foot and forearm. 

“kai... come on. let me talk, hyung is really sorry.” he pleads, attempting to squeeze his head through the tiny gap. 

“i don’t wanna talk to you...” he voices, and yeonjun could faintly hear the pout in his voice. 

“i told you, hyung. you wouldn’t listeennn.” he hears a voice echoing from the living room, dragging out the last word for emphasis. 

“shut up, soobin! oh my god.” he shouts from the hallway, turning his head to the left to make sure his voice was loud enough for soobin to catch on. 

“huening kai, let me in. i shouldn’t have yelled at you like that, i know. i’m really sorry.” 

once the opposing force on the other side of the door comes to a halt, yeonjun stops pushing the door when he realizes kai is no longer resisting his entry. silence infiltrates the atmosphere of the room and the tension is growing awkwardly thick once yeonjun pushes the door just by a couple inches so that they are facing each other in silence. 

“well, are you gonna come in or just stand there?” he mordantly questions, galled at yeonjun. 

“hey, watch the attitude.” yeonjun demands as his big brother instincts take over him. 

“fine.” huening kai shoots back, sitting down on his bed before crossing his arms and glaring up at yeonjun. he can’t help but chuckle at the fact that his younger brother was seventeen, though he held the mentality of a three year old. 

“look. hyung is sorry, okay? i was really upset and took it out on you for bringing up the idea.” yeonjun sits down on the bed with huening kai, but still maintains to keep his distance. “i was upset at you for suggesting it but i never should have lashed out like that and i shouldn’t have yelled at you. i don’t know what i was thinking.”

“you were such a meanie, hyung.” he pouts, pressing his lips into a thin line before jutting his bottom one out. 

it takes everything in yeonjun to not reach over him and coddle him, but he refrains himself from doing so. he was always aware of his little brother’s sensitivity and fragility so it was no shock to him that huening kai was taking this a little more to heart than he should have. 

“i know, hyuka. i know. i said that i’m really sorry, and i didn’t intend to shout at you. it just came out in the heat of the moment but i would never purposefully try to make you feel bad.” he inches his way closer, placing his hands over the boy’s shoulder. 

“do you forgive hyung?” 

huening kai glances up at him, attempting to suppress a smile. “can you take me out to the movies if i forgive you?” he asks teasingly. 

ruffling his hair, yeonjun cards his fingers through the boy’s soft locks. “fine, yes. anything you want. food’s on me too.” 

kai’s eyes widen at the mention of free food. “fine, i forgive you hyung. but don’t do that again, i’m fragile.” he jokes, leaning into the touch of his older brother. 

“you brat,” he teasingly says, shoving kai as he almost falls off the foot of the bed. 

“by the way hyung, did you hear about taehyun and beomgyu-hyung?” 

yeonjun winces at the memory of seeing the two boys cuddled up on the couch together. it was nothing new, taehyun and beomgyu were always affectionate towards each other just like yeonjun was with beomgyu, though the new profound label of _fake boyfriend_ was unsettling.

“yeah, actually....” he says with the slightest bit of bitterness behind his tone. “i came home and saw them cuddling on the couch and then beomgyu told me.” 

huening kai tenses up when yeonjun speaks about the subject. “well, how do you feel then?” 

yeonjun defensively squints his eyes in confusion. “what do you mean _how do i feel?_ i don’t care. why would i care? it’s not like i have a reason to. they could do whatever they want. i don’t care.” the hostility behind his tone was far too evident and he hates the way he doesn’t even try to hide it. 

huening kai eyes him suspiciously. “woah, no need to get defensive hyung. i was just asking....” he says, holding his hands up in defense before backing up. 

“i know, i know. i’m gonna fix this.” 

* * *

when yeonjun is lied down on his bed that night, he can’t help but toss and turn in the emptiness of his bed. his bed for the past nights felt awfully bigger and beomgyu’s side of the bed felt painfully cold. it felt unnatural for beomgyu to actually sleep in his own room, considering the fact that he crashes in yeonjun’s room on most nights. 

not being able to endure the emptiness of his room anymore, he quietly makes his way to beomgyu’s room and knocks on the door. 

“beomie?” he quietly whispers, peaking his head in the little crack where beomgyu left his door open by ajar. 

“come in,” he calls out, and yeonjun takes small strides and inches his way into beomgyu’s room ever so slowly. 

“can we talk?” he softly asks, playing with his fingers behind his back. 

beomgyu doesn’t tear his gaze away from the book he’s reading. “well, we’re talking now aren’t we?” he says in a matter-of-factly tone, keeping his gaze on the book and detached from yeonjun. 

“gyu, i’m serious...” yeonjun sits on the foot on beomgyu’s bed before resting his hand gently on his calf. 

“fine,” shutting his book before dog-earing the page, he sits up to look at yeonjun and he can’t help but miss those eyes. “say what you need to say. i’ll listen.” 

“i’ve already talked to kai and apologized, so now i want to apologize to you.” yeonjun plays with the bracelet around his wrist as a distraction. it was his favorite, beomgyu gave it to him on his nineteenth birthday. “i’m really sorry, beomie. what i said was rude and uncalled for. i guess i was just upset at the fact that you were willing to try and go lengths for someone who wouldn’t do the same for you. you’re my best friend and you know how much i care for you and i just didn’t want you to be trying so hard on someone who can’t reciprocate the same feelings. so i snapped and said things i shouldn’t have said but i really can’t stand not talking to you because at this point in life, you’re basically stuck with me.” beomgyu’s lips curl up at the little jab and yeonjun tries his best to not give himself a pat on the back. 

“and i’ll say it as much as times as i have to but i’m really sorry, beomgyu. sleeping in an empty apartment and bed was extremely grueling and going to classes alone was so dull. that literally was the longest i went without talking to you and i’m pretty sure that was only eighteen hours. please forgive me, bub.” he scoots closer to beomgyu so that they were facing each other and he reaches over to place his hand on top of beomgyu’s to rub soft circles on the back of his hand. 

“you know hyung, you’d do really good in a romance film,” beomgyu smirks, and yeonjun is satisfied at the teasing, signifying that he was no longer as upset as yeonjun figured. 

“are you kidding me? i’m literally trying to be serious and you just pushed my feelings away,” he crosses his arms and pouts like a little kid causing beomgyu to giggle. 

“okay, okay fine,” beomgyu says in-between fits of laughters. he reaches over to yeonjun to turn him around since his back was in beomgyu’s face. “look, you upset me hyung. you really did. so i just needed a little time alone and away from you. i was never mad at you, but i was rather more just upset at what you said. and i was being a little bit of a brat too so i also apologize for that but this is something stupid for be to be mad about.” beomgyu reaches over and interlaces his fingers with yeonjun and yeonjun misses feeling his warmth. 

“i was never mad at you so i can't forgive you if i was never really upset at the first place.” 

yeojjun hesitantly lifts his head up.

"but to answer your question, yes i forgive you."

he suddenly felt less empty. 

“you do?” yeonjun assures. 

beomgyu nods yes and his hair bounces swiftly on his head. “yes, hyung. and i know we always have arguments and little fights here and there but i knew we would move past it.” he smiles, pulling yeonjun closer.

“we always do.” 

“i know, but i was just a little worried.” 

“worried?” tilting his head to the side, beomgyu furrows his eyebrows in confusion. “ worried for what?”

“i dunno, that you wouldn’t come back or something. it’s stupid, i know.” yeonjun shuts his eyelids tightly and scratches the back of his neck out of embarrassment. 

“what? are you serious, junnie? you said it yourself, you’re basically stuck with me forever. so as far as i’m aware, i’m not going anywhere. i don’t know what you’re worried about. i’m gonna stick around for so long hyung that you’re gonna get sick and tired of me.” he gives yeonjun one of his bright smiles and yeonjun would swear it’s his most favorite thing in the world. 

“i’ll never get tired of you, beomie.” 

“oh god, you’re gonna regret saying that in fifty years.” 

yeonjun’s back starts to ache from sitting down so he crawls over next to beomgyu, leaning his back against the soft pillows. “do you think we’ll still be friends in fifty years?” 

beomgyu looks at him like he’s crazy. “is that even a question? of course we will. you’re crazy to even think we wouldn’t, hyung.” 

“it was just a thought...” yeonjun shrugs. 

“well get those thoughts out of your head!” beomgyu jocularly chuckles, ruffling yeonjun’s hair.

“also... another thing.” yeonjun trails with a hint of anxiousness behind his tone. 

“hmm?” beomgyu hums. 

“if it’s not too late, i wanna say yes.” he nervously chews on his bottom lip to ease his nervousness, attempting to conceal the edge in his voice. 

“yes to what?” beomgyu smiles, graciously blinking his eyes twice in confusion. 

“to fake dating you.” yeonjun peeps out, and hearing the lack of confidence in his own voice just plummets his esteem even more. he was trepidatious about the topic, though he wanted to bring it up to beomgyu’s attention. 

“oh, it’s alright hyung. i already have taehyunnie, remember? thank you though, i know you’re a little uncomfortable with-”

“no! not at all. i was never uncomfortable with the fact of being your fake boyfriend. i was just a little hesitant, but now i wanna help. i mean, don’t you think it’d make more sense? since we’re best friends and all, it wouldn’t be too hard to come up with a story.”

the glimmer in beomgyu’s eyes only grow brighter at the suggestion. “you’re right, hyung! but you’d do that for me?” 

“of course, gyu. i’d do anything for you. you already know that.” 

beomgyu shakes his whole body in excitement, causing the bed to move a little. “yay! i’ll go call taehyun and tell him that i won’t need him to do it anymore. thank you hyung.” 

“yeah...” he says through a tight lipped smile. 

he doesn’t know if he made the right decision, but seeing his best friend happy was all that ever mattered in the moment. 

“okay, we can go over all the rules and everything else tomorrow since i’m a little sleepy, but i have one _very_ important rule,” he points at yeonjun with his index finger to emphasize his point. 

“and that is?” yeonjun questions with his eyebrows raised. 

“no falling in love.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hopefully this chapter was okay! it was a bit on the longer side. also, do you guys prefer shorter chapters or longer ones? i’ve been writing my chapters for this book 2k-3k but in my other book i usually write it 4k-6k. i know long chapters sometimes can be dragging and boring when it’s just opening chapters so let me know what u think.
> 
> hopefully my plot and pace is okay!! i love reading everyone’s feedback and seeing what people think about my book. 
> 
> feel free to participate in the qotds so we can learn more about each other and comment your favorite scenes!
> 
> see u in the next chapter! <3


	4. cafeteria meetings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyone i am super super sorry this was so late! im currently taking care of other things rn and also got sick along the way so i wasnt aware of how many days passed by! once i realized, i quickly wrote a chapter so im sorry if this is a bit sloppy and if there are any minor mistakes! 
> 
> also, can i just say reading the answers to my last qotd made me smile so big. so many of you were saying how you found out about txt through bts, but stuck around because you all realized their talent and separated them from bts. i know this fandom gets a lot of hate bc ppl say txT iS geTtinG thEiR sHiT hAndEd tO thEm but im so glad u guys stuck around!
> 
> that being sad, im so happy with all the comments ive been getting and you all are too sweet! i reply to everyone though i do take a few days because i get busy but pls do know that i read everyones suportive comments.
> 
> here are your set of qotds:
> 
> 1.) what is your favorite lyric from their song?
> 
> 2.) if you could take a skill from one of the boys, who's skill and what skill would it be?
> 
> 3.) youre stuck in a haunted house and the last picture you saved of a txt member is stuck in there with you. are you getting out or are you stuck? (mine is hyuka and tbh i think we stuck in the haunted house lmfaooo)
> 
> if u read my other book, youd know that question 3 is a recycled question from bottled teardrops ahahha
> 
> but happy reading <3

usually, the luminescence of the sun rays trying to peek their way through yeonjun’s blackout curtains is what wakes him up in the morning. but today was a little different. the other side of the bed once again felt colder, and the tiny body he grew accustomed to holding onto during the dark night hours was absent in his presence. instead, the boy was pacing back and forth in yeonjun’s room, rubbing his palms together wearily growing anxious about something yeonjun wasn’t aware of.

yeonjun slowly winks his eye open, only to close it again and groaning at the pain of the bright sunlight clashing with his eyes. once he gains the strength to open his eyes again without getting blinded by the vivid sun rays beaming towards his direction, he pays no attention to the scintillating sun shining far too bright because his best friend looked as if he was losing his mind walking back and forth in the compressed corner of yeonjun’s room.

“beommmmieee...” he groans, burying his head into the soft cushiony pillows, inhaling the sweet scent of beomgyu’s shampoo attached to the fabric. “come back to bed, s’cold...” he mumbles half asleep, rubbing his arm to radiate heat from the lack of warmth.

“hyung, oh my god what am i gonna do?” the alarmed look on beomgyu’s face was unsettling to yeonjun. he never liked seeing beomgyu worried or uncomfortable. “that’s it, i’m going to hell for lying because it’s biting me back in the ass.”

yeonjun presses his lips into a thin line to suppress his laughter, because it would be highly inappropriate of him to laugh at a time like this. “first of all,” he says groggily, sitting up and using his elbows for support. “you’re going to hell regardless for waking me up this early. second of all, why are you-”

before he even has the time to finish his sentence, he feels a pillow colliding with his left cheek, not even having enough time to comprehend the pain because beomgyu is glaring at him with his arms crossed and lip pouted out.

“okay, you’ve really gotta stop throwing pillows at me, you brat. i raised you better than this.” rubbing his left cheek in pain, he sits up and pouts at the frazzled silver haired boy.

“sorry... i got angry...” beomgyu quietly apologizes before giggling, holding his hand over his mouth to conceal his smile as he observes yeonjun trying to ease the pain growing on his left cheek.

“now why are you pacing back and forth, and why are you going to hell for lying?” the bright light was still hurting his eyes, so he turns to his side and scratches his head in confusion as he watches his best friend slowly lose his mind over whatever he’s stressing about.

yeonjun immediately hates himself for bringing the subject back to beomgyu’s attention, because the second it was mentioned, the younger boy looks distressed and worried. his cheeks were slightly tinged red out of anxiousness and his eyes were wider than usual.

“because hyunnggg,” he cries, dragging out his words as he feigns loud and exaggerated sobs.

“because whaaattt,” yeonjun mimics beomgyu’s tone and that only seems to offend the latter even more.

“becauseee...” he plops down face first onto yeonjun’s bed before turning around so that he’s facing the boy himself. “because jihyun called me about ten minutes ago saying he really wants to join that stupid ass fake club we came up with and i didn’t know what to say so i told him i was in class and would call him back later.” beomgyu takes a deep breath since he was speaking at least two thousand words per second, and for a moment yeonjun thinks he’s finished speaking but he opens his mouth again to explain further. “but theennn... he asked me what building i was in so he could come fetch me and hang out after but hyung, i’m not really in class obviously, i’m here with you.” beomgyu finally finishes while releasing a big breath. “uh, no offense...”

yeonjun subtly glares at his hidden jab, trying his best to not take too much offense at beomgyu’s words.

he tries his best to not laugh, pressing his tongue against the walls on the inside of his jaw as a subtle way to hide the laughs swimming it’s way up his throat. beomgyu eyes his suspiciously once he snorts, covering it up with a cough that sounded far too fake to be real.

“what?” beomgyu questions, elongating his neck to look better at yeonjun. “what’s so funny? you’re laughing.” yeonjun defensively shakes his head far too aggressively that he could almost feel his peanut sized brain shake. “you’re laughing at me aren’t you? you’re-”

“what?! gyu, nooo i’m not.” his voice raises an octave or two higher, and beomgyu knew the shift in tone always signified him lying. that was the perks of living with your best friend. you could never get away with anything. they know you more than you know yourself. “i just... i thought of something funny.”

“nuh uh!” he pouts, crossing his arms like a five year old pre-tantrum. “you’re making fun of me huh?”

“no no, i’m not beomie. you’re just so cuteee.” yeonjun tries fo reach over to coddle beomgyu, though the younger boy only pulls away at the touch being stubborn as usual. “i’m laughing because you’re so cute.”

“no, you’re making fun of me.” crossing his arms once again, he sits up on the bed and faces his back towards yeonjun. “that’s it, i’m breaking up with you. i’m calling taehyun again to be my fake boyfriend because you’re doing a terrible job at it, mister.”

the mention of someone other than himself being beomgyu’s _fake boyfriend_ always left a funny feeling in his stomach, so he refrained from the teasing for a minute or two and switched back to serious mode when he sees beomgyu standing up to grab his things and go. he knew beomgyu wasn’t going to go anywhere, he always did that as a way to scare or threaten yeonjun, and it worked every time. including now.

yeonjun jolts out from the covers, wincing as the cold air comes in contact with his skin but he ignores that for now.he climbs to the edge of his bed using his knees, just in time to wrap his arms around beomgyu’s waist as they collapse on the bed with beomgyu’s back pressed against yeonjun’s chest. “no, come here i was only joking with you, you big baby.” yeonjun rolls them over so that beomgyu was no longer on top of him, and instead being next to him.

beomgyu turns around, back faced to yeonjun without saying a word.

“heeyyy, come on. c’mere now, i told you i was only joking!” yeonjun wraps his arms around beomgyu’s tiny waist, only for the younger boy to grab his arm and discard it, flicking it away as his truculent side takes over.

“c’mon are you really ignoring me right now?”

beomgyu was slightly miffed at yeonjun’s constant teasing so he lays on his back and pulls his phone out, looking up at the ceiling and anywhere but yeonjun. yeonjun furrows his eyebrows when the boy brings his phone to his ear expecting him to be joking but it isn’t until he actually hears ringing on the other end, does he realize beomgyu really phoned taehyun.

“you’re not really ringing him are you?”

“can you shut up?”

“you’re just tricking me right? like you’re not actually calling him cause-“

“junni, shut up! i can’t hear.”

when beomgyu rolls his eyes and ignores yeonjun’s presence, yeonjun grows slightly agitated when he realizes the younger boy had actually did in fact phone taehyun to ask him to be his fake boyfriend.

“taehyun, hey! so i just broke up with yeonjun so can you-”

yeonjun snatches the phone out of beomgyu’s hand and brings it to his own ear, “don’t listen to him, we’re still together! fakely, i mean. he’s just being a brat.”

beomgyu desperately tries to get his phone back but yeonjun is pushing him away using his one vacant arm and his legs. “give me my fucking phone back you dweeb!”

taehyun chuckles on the other end of the phone as yeonjun struggles to resist beomgyu’s grip. “uuhhh... i can call back later if you want.”

“yes, please do.” yeonjun smiles while beomgyu fights for his phone, getting shoved away by the older boy.

yeonjun presses the red button in the midst of trying to resist beomgyu’s kicks and soft punches, because the kid would never intentionally hurt yeonjun and yeonjun knew that. it was just cute watching beomgyu attempting to hit him because he was the very personification of a soft kitten trying to be angry. and all that ever looked like was cute.

“give. me. my. phone. back.”

he looks to his side as he sees beomgyu glaring at him, eyebrows furrowed and cheeks slightly flushed red from anger. yeonjun presses his lips into a thin line to stop himself from curling the corners of his mouth.

“okay, okay. i’m sorry, don’t be mad gyu,” yeonjun chuckles, failing to taint his chuckles while attempting to reach over and play around with the pouty boy.

“fine, if you won’t let me ask him over the phone i’ll just go to his apartment later and ask there instead.” beomgyu tuns around, snatching his phone away from yeonjun in a speedy motion of his nimble fingers.

“hey, don’t get all pouty on me now,” yeonjun tries to turn beomgyu around all while they’re both lying on the bed, though the boy was very adamant on playing his role and remaining “upset” when yeonjun could clearly see beomgyu clandestinely grinning to himself. “i was only laughing at you because you just looked so cute when you were all flustered! i promise i wasn’t making fun of you or anything.”

beomgyu gradually turned around, slowly facing yeonjun once again in a hesitant manner. “you promise, hyung?”

“i swear, beomie! now, are you still breaking up with me?” he humorously says, wiggling his eyebrows in a flippant manner to tease the younger boy.

“hmm.... only if you promise to be the best boyfriend ever.” his own words catch him off guard, and he abruptly widens his eyes before opening his mouth again to correct himself. “fake boyfriend, i mean.”

“i promise, beomgyu.”

“and i’m not talking about little things, i’m talking about actually being the bestest boyfriend, hyung. you have to walk me to class, and drive me home, and buy me coffee, and take me out to dinner, and cuddle me—only when he’s looking of course, and-“

“beomgyu.... i already do all of those things though.” he awkwardly emits, playing with his fingers as he refrains to look into beomgyu’s eyes, slightly embarrassed.

“well, i guess you’re already one step ahead of the game then.”

* * *

what yeonjun didn’t expect later that day was meeting jihyun at the school cafeteria. beomgyu hadn’t told him prior, though he only informed yeonjun whilst on the road as they were supposedly getting froyo, asking yeonjun to drive to the school campus to meet a special someone. who beomgyu hangs out with was none of yeonjun’s business, but it only becomes his business when it’s the man that beomgyu is trying to get jealous by fake dating yeonjun. to add fuel to the fire, since there was no prior warning, there was also no backstory to their relationship. they were setting themselves up for failure.

“what the hell are we gonna say when he asks how we met? or how long we’ve been dating? or where our first date was? or-”

“okay, first of all, can you keep your eyes on the road?” yeonjun doesn’t know why, but he was expecting that from beomgyu and was shocked that it took him that long to scold him. “and can you relax? he only wants to talk about that fake ass non-existent club that he wants to join so why don’t we focus on coming up with lies for that. and chill, he probably won’t even ask about us so you need to calm down and relax.”

his grip around the wheel tightens at an abnormally fast pace and his jaw clenches down a little too much to the point where his back molars are rubbing painfully against each other. “you do realize that you telling me to calm down and relax will only get me more anxious, right?”

“hyung, chill oh my god. what are you so nervous for? it’s just me. i mean jihyun too but there’s no need to be so anxious. just act like you’re dating me and when we get home we can talk it through thoroughly and come up with a story and all of that. but right now, there’s no time to stress because we’re literally like three minutes away from the caf.” if beomgyu was nervous, he had a good way of hiding it. yeonjun looked down at beomgyu’s lap to see the younger doing his nervous habit while playing with his bracelet swishing and twirling the band around his wrist anxiously, though his demeanor showed otherwise.

when yeonjun walks through the cafeteria, he already hates how packed it seems to be. he was never one who liked to engage in social activities. staying glued to his bed seemed like a better option. beomgyu on the other hand, was a social butterfly. it was fairly easy for him to make friends and he just had this aura radiating within him that made everyone feel comfortable whenever he was around.

he scans around the room, sea full of people looking for jihyun when beomgyu suddenly nudges him on the rib with his elbow, tickling him just the slightest.

“hyung, what are you doing? you have to hold my hand!” the younger boy exclaims, discreetly holding his hand out for yeonjun to take, in fear of making it look unnatural.

“what! no, i’m not gonna hold your hand!” yeonjun complains, shoving his hand away.

“you have to! to make it look real.” the younger boy looks like he’s about to start whining and yeonjun wants to prevent him from doing anything but that.

“he’s not even around yet! i don’t want to-”

“okay, then put your arm around me instead or something! we look like awkward prepubescent boys trying to confess to each other. do something.” beomgyu was always naturally clingy, so yeonjun was used to this back and forth bickering but he doesn’t know why this time he seemed more hesitant to the idea.

“beomgyu! hey!”

both yeonjun and beomgyu turn their head to their left to see jihyun sitting down at a table with his laptop, waving at them. yeonjun quickly wraps his arms around beomgyu, causing him to squeal in an unnatural manner making jihyun furrow his eyebrows in confusion.

“and uh... daejun was it?” jihyun guesses, tilting his head. yeonjun almost thinks the boy is pushing his buttons on purpose to rile him up.

“uh, it’s yeonjun.” he monotonously says, causing beomgyu to step on his foot as a warning.

beomgyu interlaces their fingers, dragging yeonjun towards the table where jihyun was sitting. there was something about beomgyu’s hand fitting perfectly in yeonjun’s that elicited a spark within him and even if he felt something, yeonjun didn’t voice anything.

“sorry we’re late. i would’ve let you pick me up earlier when you called but i realized i left something for my next class in the apartment so i had to rush there quickly.” yeonjun ignores the way beomgyu is sticking to him like honey. he was almost nuzzled into yeonjun’s side, but he ignores that for now and pays more attention to the way beomgyu is beginning to get better with lying.

“oh, no that’s alright. i had to take care of a couple stuff anyways too.” jihyun’s tone seemed painfully dead. he was too distracted and kept glancing down at his phone as if he were waiting for a call or text message.

on cue, his phone rings causing vibrations on the table and he hastily silences the ringing, anxiously glancing at it once in a while.

“so, what did you wanna talk about?” beomgyu vigorously says with a little force, playing with yeonjun’s fingers under the table to calls himself down.

yeonjun liked the feeling.

“right.... i was wondering if i could join the club you guys were in? you know, to earn credits faster. and i tried asking around but it turns out everyone is just as clueless as me because they haven’t seemed to hear of it either.” yeonjun turns his head to the side and uses his forearm to cover his face because he was smiling idiotically at how funny the situation was. it shouldn’t be funny, but the thought of their lie going further than expected was just so funny to him.

“oh, yeah... we’re a pretty small club.” the younger boy says lowly as if he were trying to convince himself as well. “but we have bad news....” beomgyu carefully trails, causing jihyun to shift in his seat.

“oh no, what is it?” he asks, giving beomgyu his full attention as his elbows are pressed against the surface of the table with his chin in both of the palms of his hands.

for the second time, jihyun’s phone vibrates against the table, interrupting their conversation and he quickly declines the call. “sorry.... you were saying?”

“right, jihyun-hyung, we sort of have bad news. why don’t you tell him, hyung?”

yeonjun is startled by the question. he’s unaware of what to say, considering the fact that he was still recovering from trying to suppress his laughter, that he didn’t pay much heed towards the conversation. beomgyu communicates with yeonjun using his eyes once again, and yeonjun knew exactly what beomgyu was trying to say without having to actually speak.

“oh uh... yeah,” he stalls, trying to use those three seconds of fake coughing to come up with something believable. “well we actually just had our last meeting the other day. it was originally only supposed to be a summer club but we were able to drag it out for a couple of more weeks into fall. sorry dude, maybe you can go check on other clubs to join.”

jihyun looks bummed and yeonjun can’t help but giggle at the fact that he was actually interested in some made up club that he and beomgyu impulsively came up with to conceal the reason why they were spying on him behind a bush.

“man... i guess i’ll just try other ways to get credits but do you seem to know of any?”

jihyun’s phone once again distracts yeonjun from talking because the excessive vibrating against the table was diverting his attention from the conversation. “uh, i dunno i finished my electives last year but— dude, your phone has been ringing since like earlier. are you gonna get that? it’s annoying.” his tone was slightly miffed and he wasn’t afraid to give him a wry smile, though he was holding back any satirical comments.

“junni, stop it.” he hears beomgyu whisper in his ear once he notices that jihyun is occupied with trying to decline the call.

“sorry... it’s byungwoo. he’s been blowing my phone since earlier.” he runs his fingers through his hair stressfully, and yeonjun had stopped paying attention once the first word was spoken so he was more interested and sidetracked by the people in the table next to them who had mouthwatering food that yeonjun so desperately needed in his empty stomach.

“hyung, did you hear that?” beomgyu’s voice cuts him off once the younger boy nudges him in the rib again.

yeonjun shakes his head to snap out of it, trying his best to tear his eyes away from the food in the next table, though it was a difficult task. “h-huh? wait sorry, what? i wasn’t listening.”

he earns a disapproving look from both beomgyu and especially jihyun. he’s starting to think this jihyun kid isn’t very fond of him, but it’s okay because yeonjun isn’t too big of a fan of him either.

“jihyun-hyung said him and byungwoo called it quits.”

yeonjun can almost see the smile beomgyu is trying to hold back. the stars perfectly aligned for him.

“oh... shit. well, sorry man.” his half-assed apology doesn’t seem to do any good to jihyun, who only forces out a head nod and a tight lipped, passive aggressive smile.

“you know, you can always call me and hang out if you want to take your mind off of things. break ups are always hard.” yeonjun hates the way beomgyu is flirtily batting his eyelashes out of fondness at the raven haired boy. “you can hang out with me and hyung.”

“thanks, beomgyu. you’re really sweet.” jihyun reaches over the table and rests his hand on top of beomgyu’s and yeonjun pushes away the rapid beating in his chest that he, and probably the rest of the campus can hear.

“of course. don’t hesitate to text me.” yeonjun pays close attention to the way beomgyu pulls his bottom lip in-between his teeth, causing jihyun to nervously chuckle.

yeonjun scoots closer to beomgyu, wrapping his hand delicately around the younger boy’s waist, slightly resting his head in the region between beomgyu’s shoulder and neck.

“i wish i had a best friend like yours, beomgyu. you guys are so close and care for each other so much. and super affectionate too.” jihyun was eyeing them up and down and yeonjun felt like his privacy was being invaded in some way.

“well of course i’m gonna be affectionate to my boyfriend.” yeonjun doesn’t know what the fuck took over him, but the angel that was on his shoulder was replaced by a devil, and it told him to reach over and peck the skin below beomgyu’s ear, so he did. leaving a little open mouthed kiss on his soft skin, he nuzzles deeper into beomgyu’s side.

he looks across the table to see jihyun trying to recover from coughing in his own saliva. _what a fucking idiot_ he wants to say, but of course yeonjun was classy, so instead he says, “woah, man. you good?”

“b-boyfriend?” the man stutters.

yeonjun looks up at beomgyu, waiting for him to answer since he had been doing all of the talking, but the younger boy looks awfully pale in his complexion.

“yeah, we’re dating...” beomgyu confesses to jihyun, nestling yeonjun in his arms.

“oh...” jihyun’s demeanor suddenly changes, and the smile was instantly wiped from his face. “that’s so cute...” he feigns enthusiasm. “well listen, i forgot i had something, so i have to run but i’ll text you guys, okay?”

“oh okay...” beomgyu softly says, upset that he was leaving too quick. “bye jihyun-hyung.”

“bye beomgyu. and bye uh.... i’m sorry, i keep forgetting?”

“yeonjun, my name is yeonjun.” he says sternly, looking up at him while attempting to fight back an eye roll.

“right, bye....”

* * *

yeonjun had one hand on the wheel, while the other was out the window. he glances to his side every fifteen to twenty seconds to check on beomgyu who was idiotically grinning down at his phone like a teenager girl texting her crush.

“why you smiling so stupidly down at your phone there, huh?” he teasingly says to beomgyu as the corners of his lips quirk playfully.

“what?” he says, snapping his head up. “huh? oh... just something.”

“well? are you gonna tell me or just keep smiling to yourself like a teenage girl?”

“hyung, i think our plan is working!” he does a little celebratory dance in his seat, ignoring the tight little space he already has limiting him from doing any movements.

“what do you mean?” yeonjun rolls up the window and turns down the volume to hear beomgyu better.

“look, read this text!” he squeals while holding his phone out.

“okay, you’re always the one who stresses the fact to always keep my eyes on the road but you’re making me read a text message while driving.”

“it’s a red light, junni! hurry read it.”

he quickly scans over beomgyu’s screen and reads the text right before the light hits green.

**jihyun**   
_too bad youre taken. shoulda told me before i was flirting with you. let me know when your not ;)_

yeonjun shakes his head as disapproval before emitting a bitter chuckle. “what an asshole.”

“hey, watch your mouth.” beomgyu warns him before snatching the phone out of his hands as the light turns green.

“it’s true. why would he text that to you when he knows your taken? fucking home wrecker.”

beomgyu locks his phone and turns his head to yeonjun. yeonjun’s blood is boiling until he feels beomgyu’s soft hand resting on his thigh. “hey, calm down. and plus, we’re only fake dating which seems to be working.”

“okay, well as far as he knows, we’re actually dating so it’s pretty fucked up of him to text something like that to someone who’s taken.” yeonjun begins to feel beomgyu rubbing comforting circles on his knee, before he pulls away and types away at his phone.

“overprotective...got it.” he says to himself as he seems to be looking at a mini list on his phone.

“uh.... what? what are you doing?” yeonjun quickly glances at beomgyu before bringing his attention back onto the road.

“well... i’ve been making a list so far on how you are as my fake boyfriend and so far you’re at a seven out of ten, hyung.”

yeonjun gasps offensively before giving his hand to beomgyu who begins to play with yeonjun’s fingers, while his other hand is occupied on the steering wheel. “what?! are you kidding. i at least deserve an eight point nine.”

“yeah? well so far on the list i have: hyung is annoying, but super sweet. hyung sucks at public affection and acts like a prepubescent teenage boy. hyung is very caring, bonus points for you. and a new addition to the list, hyung is waayyyy too overprotective. which leads you to an average of a seven out of ten.” yeonjun doesn’t even try to hide the grin on his face after beomgyu’s finishes reciting the mini list on his phone. beomgyu is still playing with his fingers which eases yeonjun’s embarrassment.

“what?! see, that list is full of me being good to you! why the fuck am i at a seven?” yeonjun was a perfectionist, and a seven wasn’t too low, but to yeonjun it felt like the end of the world.

“well, hyung... you’re lacking in showing affection. if you can’t do that to me, our fake relationship is going to look awkward which is why i gave you a seven. don’t worry, we can work on it.” beomgyu brings his hands behind yeonjun’s neck and starts massaging the area where his hair and neck connects, and it seems to soothe yeonjun throughout the whole drive.

“oh and also, don’t get mad. but i told jihyun he could hang out with us all the time now and can come over whenever he likes.” beomgyu is nervously smiling at yeonjun who tries his best not to scream.

“what?! why the fuck would you do that!”

“uh... because i felt bad about byungwoo and he seemed pretty bummed out so i texted him saying that he could hang out with us. plus, don’t you think it’s be a good way of getting him jealous and shit? he’s gonna see us together all the time when he’s over that he’ll get jealous and want to date me instead!”

beomgyu’s explanation to yeonjun seemed pretty climactic, until the last part. the thought of jihyun dating beomgyu in the end left a tightening feeling in yeonjun’s throat and he felt like bile was rising up.

“fine, fine. but when we get home we’re setting up ground rules.”

“fine, okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okayyy so hopefully it wasnt too bad?? i sort of rushed it so im super sorry but i'll try to do much better next time!! i'd love to hear your thoughts on the book! 
> 
> feel free to participate in the qotds to learn more about each other and i'll see you guys in the next chapter !! <3


	5. new rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyone i’m sorry this is super late:((( i think it’s been more than 9 days and i usually try not to exceed 7 days without updating but i’m really sorry! i’ll try not to make this a habit. 
> 
> i really hope u guys enjoy this chapter and hopefully the plot pace is not too slow and it’s too boring hahahah
> 
> and i’ve been reading everyone’s comment and u all are so sweet that it motivates me so much to keep writing so thank u for all the support!! i try replying to everyone but just know that it takes a couple of days for me to respond back but ur support does not go unnoticed! 
> 
> here are today’s set of qotds: 
> 
> 1.) who are other people you stan? 
> 
> 2.) what is your fav txt mv? 
> 
> 3.) someone you want txt to collab with? 
> 
> happy reading my loves <3

yeonjun suddenly feels awful when he wakes up from his nap.

beomgyu made it clear that once they got home, they would go over the ground rules of this new fake relationship and set boundaries. but the second he stepped foot into the apartment, it was a constant battle between himself and his eyelids. he excused himself, telling beomgyu he needed to use the restroom before their talk, and after lying down on his bed for what was supposed to be two minutes,turned into two hours. ultimately in the end, the battle between his ability to stay awake and his heavy eyelids was a battle failed to win because yeonjun even had blanket marks on his face to emphasize the deep comfortability he experienced in his two hours of sleep.

he quickly hops out of his bed, tugging a black sweatshirt onto his bare upper body before quickly exiting his room to search for beomgyu.

only, yeonjun had no purpose for searching for beomgyu because he was already in the living room, and he wasn’t alone. he was with kang taehyun who was standing next to a roll-in whiteboard with wheels, wearing a pair of stupidly round nerdy glasses, while holding a black expo marker.

yeonjun was all types of confused. _where the fuck did they even get the whiteboard? why was there even a whiteboard in his living room in the first place? why does taehyun look like a young professor? why does-_

“mr. choi. you are late.” taehyun sophisticatedly says, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose to make himself seem cooler, though all that even does is make himself look even more lame.

“beomie, i’m sorry i know we were supposed talk about everything but i just got really tired and lied down on my bed to rest my eyes, and before i knew it, two minutes turned into two hours. but i’m up now!” he rushes his way towards the couch, still confused about everything, but he refrains himself from asking questions and waits for beomgyu to speak up.

“oh, that’s okay! it gave me two hours to prepare!” he eagerly says, too overwrought to even give himself a chance to explain.

yeonjun tried his best to focus on beomgyu, but taehyun standing next to a huge whiteboard looking like a teenage professor was very distracting.

“prepare for what...” he nervously trails, unable to tear his gaze away from taehyun, who then in turn,innocently waves his hands and smiles at yeonjun.

“okay, let me explain,” yeonjun was all agog to seeing what sort of explanation the younger boy has to elucidate the fact that there is indeed a whiteboard in his living room with the company of professor taehyun, and yeonjun wasn’t dreaming all of this.

“well... we are going to go over the rules of our fake relationship!” he claps erratically, going haywire. “here, take a seat...”

and so yeonjun does. yeonjun hesitantly takes a seat and looks at beomgyu and taehyun who are standing in front of the whiteboard.

“gyu, don’t you think this is a little extra? i mean it’s just a fake relationship. i’m sure we don’t need all this-”

“shush junni!” beomgyu complains, turning around to give himself a deep breath and pulling himself together before turning back around to face yeonjun after he’s gathered himself. “this is NOT extra. this fake relationship is important! it is _operation: make jihyun fall in love with me_, and we need to get it right. which is why you’re going to listen and not talk until i’m finished, okay?”

yeonjun sheepishly smiles to himself. it’s very cute to him how dedicated beomgyu’s is to all this fake relationship stuff and seeing him get flustered about anything going wrong within the plan makes him coo secretly.

“okay, yes.” he complies, to which beomgyu returns a smile to.

“over here...” he says walking to taehyun, holding his hand out to introduce him as if yeonjun hasn’t already known him since the kid could barely walk, “is my assistant, mr. kang taehyun.” taehyun slightly bows and waves again at yeonjun, pretending to straighten his suit up, the way a college professor would.

“evening, mr. choi.” he bows once again, greeting yeonjun like a butler.

“uh... good evening...” yeonjun replies, looking at him weirdly.

it was astounding to yeonjun how taehyun was so dedicated to his role. he wonders how much beomgyu’s had to pay him to do this.

“he’ll be helping me today. the other two choi’s were busy with school work when i went over to their apartment, so i had to settle for this one.” beomgyu playfully says, releasing a mirthful laugh just before taehyun shoves him, offended. “he was doing nothing but watching magic card trick tutorials on youtube so i thought, why not?”

“hey! i’m not getting paid enough to be degraded by you!” _ah, there it is_. yeonjun says in his head. of course the boy paid him money to do this shit. there was no way kang taehyun would willingly stand in front of a whiteboard and write whatever beomgyu’s says without something in return.

“well, he’ll be writing the rules down on this whiteboard and will be assisting me through this meeting. understood, mr. choi?” beomgyu raises his eyebrows, waiting for yeonjun to comply.

“yes, beomgyu. now let’s go over the rules because this extraness is killing me.” he chuckles, forcing a hand to cup his mouth, afraid to get scolded by taehyun who was still very deep into his professor role.

“rule number one!” he says, lowering his voice as he slowly walks around the living room with his hands clasped behind his back, the same way a college professor would during a lecture, and it’s scary to yeonjun how well beomgyu was able to imitate the role. he looks exactly like yeonjun’s literacy professor. “starting off easy: appreciate each other.” he announces.

yeonjun glances behind beomgyu and looks at taehyun who uncaps his expo marker, writing _“rule number one”_ on the board. beomgyu is already rambling on and on about how important it is for two people in a relationship to express their gratitude for each other, but he was too distracted by taehyun who was taking an awful long time just by writing the first rule onto the whiteboard.

“are you even paying attention?” beomgyu scolds yeonjun, only to notice yeonjun’s attention wasn’t even on him, though it was focused on taehyun who seemed to be struggling already. “taehyun-ah! what’s taking so damn long? oh my god.” he buries his face into his palms.

“wait, appreciate is spelled with two p’s right?” he tilts his head to the side, looking up and boring his eyes into the ceiling, signifying that he was genuinely thinking hard about it.

“no, idiot! it’s spelled with two r’s.” beomgyu says, attempting to correct him.

yeonjun groans and pinches the bridge of his nose. “oh my god.” he whispers to himself.

“what?” beomgyu offensively says, snapping his head towards yeonjun who was trying to bury himself deeper into the couch.

this was going to be a long night.

“babe, tae was right. appreciate has two p’s, not two r’s.” he softly corrects him, careful to not offend the latter too much. “but anyways, you were saying?” he retracts the attention back to beomgyu, who then brightly smiles and continues on with his lecture.

“appreciate each other! when jihyun’s around, we need to show each other that we actually care for and appreciate one another. and i’m not talking about any bullshitting, okay? i wanna hear the cute shit and the encouragements.” he finishes, and turns around to check on taehyun who was quickly writing with his black expo marker.

“uh, am i allowed to write ‘shit’ on the board?” he innocently asks, turning around to look at beomgyu, who then rolls his eyes.

“yes! just write what i say kang taehyun. don’t make me lower your pay.” he threateningly says, pointing a finger towards his direction and yeonjun’s hand flies to his mouth to conceal his laughters.

“rule number two!” beomgyu exclaims, holding up two fingers to yeonjun. yeonjun could hear taehyun in the background mumbling something under his breath about how beomgyu is going too fast, but he chooses to ignore it because beomgyu will flip his shit once yeonjun retracts his attention from him for one second. “we have to be public about it! make it seem believable. meaning, i don’t know— posting each other on our social media, or having cute little pet names in each other’s phones. whatever it is, we have to make it look real. jihyun is gonna get suspicious if we keep acting like twelve year old boys who are afraid to hold each other’s hands.”

yeonjun nods his head, because it’s true. they had a lot to work on. especially the affection part. he was kind of shit at showing affection and making it look real so having beomgyu talk about the rules was actually helping. what was surprising to yeonjun though, was how the whiteboard was actually helping as well. taehyun was speeding his way through writing and having it written down is actually helping yeonjun remember, because he had already forgotten the details to the last rule.

“hyung, is this too slanted?” taehyun asks, backing up and observing the way he wrote the sentence, tilting his head to get a better look at it. “actually, yeah it is. let me erase it and rewrite it.” he says out loud, but it seems as if it were more for himself than anything.

“no! it’s fine, taehyun. you and your perfectionist ass needs to chill. it’s not that big of a deal.” beomgyu exclaims, trying to stop him from erasing the perfectly straight sentence.

“says the one who literally organized a meeting with whiteboards and everything for a fake dating plan,” mumbles taehyun under his breath, purposefully saying it loud enough for beomgyu to hear.

“and says the one who agreed to do it!” beomgyu’s claps back, popping his head sassily.

“nuh uh! you bribed me with money and forced me, saying that if i don’t do it you’ll lock me in a room with huening kai for two hours. how am i supposed to say no after that?” he pleads, feigning cries and it’s working because yeonjun actually wants to get up from his seat and coddle the boy.

“you don’t have proof.” beomgyu snaps back, turning around sassily. “anyways, next.”

“hey! what’s wrong with being locked in a room with my brother?” yeonjun pouts, crossing his arms.

“i love him, but no offense hyung, he talks non stop, screams very loud, and never runs out of energy. i will lose my fucking mind if i ever get locked in a room with him for more than two hours.” taehyun says, breaking character for the first time and yeonjun is impressed that it took him that long.

“okay! focus.” beomgyu claps his hands to gain back their attention, echoing through the apartment. “rule number three!” he announces, holding up three fingers and yeonjun tries his best not to jump out of his seat and squish beomgyu’s cheeks. “we HAVE to be disgustingly cute, hyung. and i mean we HAVE to.... when he’s around, you take me around on cute dates, and let me borrow your sweatshirt, and cuddle me, and all that sappy shit, okay?” beomgyu bats his eyelashes, fluttering like little butterflies and yeonjun melts just a little on sight.

“disgustingly cute,” yeonjun recites while nodding his head in agreement. “got it.”

“rule number four!” beomgyu adds, moving on and leaving taehyun panicking with the whiteboard, hastily pressing the tip of his expo marker down far too hard, creating a little screeching noise against the board.

“oh my god! can you slow down? i don’t write that fucking fast.” he complains, his writing beginning to get sloppier by the second as he desperately tries to catch up with the speed of beomgyu’s words.

“sorry this is the slowest i can go,” turning a cold shoulder, beomgyu retracts his attention back to yeonjun, “rule number four, DO NOT see other people while we are in this fake relationship. i understand that none of this is real, but we cannot risk the dangers of being caught so seeing other people is off limits. unless, of course, you want to stop this, please contact my assistant kang taehyun for further inquiries.” he sophisticatedly says, straightening out his non existent suit and rubbing his palms up and down his slacks.

“soooo, i’m not allowed to see other people? even if it’s in secret?” yeonjun clarifies.

“no, are you crazy! what if you and your so-called date are out and about and jihyun just ends up seeing you guys holding hands? what’s he going to think? that you’re cheating! so that is a no no,” beomgyu thoroughly explains, dramatically waving his hands in front of him to signal the emphasis.

yeonjun wouldn’t date anyone during their fake relationship anyways. he was just hoping to hear another explanation as to why beomgyu was so opposed to the idea, but this one worked just as well.

“rule number five!” he says rather loudly, turning his head to check on taehyun whose wrist looked like it was about to fall off from the constant non-stop writing. “kissing.” yeonjun feels his heart drop down to his ass. when he signed up for this, he didn’t realize all the other tasks that came with it, and kissing beomgyu was something he realizes he has to do sooner or later. “it’s nasty, i know. but as of now, only cheek kisses, nose kisses, or forehead kisses. lip kisses or making out is not necessary because i absolutely doubt that jihyun would want to be seeing that shit anyways. unless, he starts getting suspicious of why he never sees us kiss, then we’re gonna have to do a peck or two or something.” beomgyu teasingly puckers his lips and makes kissing noises, while taehyun silently gags in the background, throwing a hand over his mouth.

yeonjun doesn’t know why, but his mood suddenly deflates at the mere mention of no lip kisses.

weird.

“what the fuckkkk,” taehyun groans, throwing his head back in annoyance as he desperately shakes the marker. “my expo marker is running out of ink!” he protests, shaking the marker even harder as if it were going to magically make more ink appear.

“that’s okay, because we’re on our last rule!” beomgyu claps his hands, jumping up and down and taehyun uses this moment to hunch over, with his hands on his knees, taking deep breaths and sighing in relief that it was over.

“last rule, and also, most important rule!” he turns around to taehyun who is aggressively smiling at him through gritted teeth. yeonjun has never seen taehyun so exhausted before.

“use your red marker for this, taehyun. and write it in big letters.” he brings his hand in front of his mouth in attempt to cover his lips, but the volume of his tone gave away any secret he was trying to hide. “you know how blind yeonjun-hyung gets sometimes.”

yeonjun furrows his eyebrows and shakes his head, “you know, just cause you’re hiding your mouth and speaking in a low volume, doesn’t hide the fact that i can still hear you? i’m literally right here.” he crosses his arms, raising his eyebrows at beomgyu whose cheeks are pinched pink slightly from embarrassment.

“oh...” he nervously chuckles, scratching the back of his neck. “ uh, anyways!”

“easiest rule of all, no falling in love,” pointing a finger at yeonjun, yeonjun suddenly feels his tongue run dry and his heart lodge into his throat.

taehyun pulls out his red marker from his pocket, writing NO FALLING IN LOVE in big red letters, and yeonjun has to read over it at least five times before getting it through his head. _no falling in love_, easy enough yeonjun thought to himself.

“easy, right?” beomgyu raises his eyebrows, waiting for yeonjun’s response.

he runs the palms of his hands together, “yeah... easy enough.” he lets out a shaky breath, ignoring the way his heart beat is at least two times faster than from five minutes ago.

“good, good!” he squeals, finally sitting down on the chair across from yeonjun sitting on the couch. “now, time for some practice!”

“practice? huh, for what?” yeonjun’s eyes widen.

“god, do i have to stay here for this?” taehyun groans, collapsing on the couch while lying his head on yeonjun’s thighs and releases fake sobs into them, to which yeonjun gently pats taehyun’s hair to ease his fake cries while beomgyu’s rolls his eyes at the boy’s dramatic actions.

“yes! you’re supposed to be the judge of all of this, taehyun. so sit down and watch,” beomgyu says taking a seat next to yeonjun on the couch while taehyun throws his head back in pain.

“you’re not paying me enough for this, y’know,” taehyun voices, leaning back into his chair.

“i’m a college student. i don’t get paid enough either. so suck it up,” he childishly says, sticking out his tongue.

“so uh... what are we- uhm... what are we going to do?” yeonjun nervously asks, rubbing his sweaty palms on his thighs to get rid of the clamminess that developed the second beomgyu sat down next to him.

“hmm... we could practice maybe cuddling?” beomgyu suggests, raising his shoulders and holding his hands out with his palms facing the ceiling.

“you guys already do that all the time though! why do you need to practice something you already know? that’s like asking a motorcycle driver to learn how to ride a bike.” taehyun was now lying down on the small chair, squeezing his tiny petite body as his eyes were gazing on something on the ceiling.

“you’re right,” beomgyu snaps his fingers, “hmm...” he hums, tapping his chin while looking up. “oh! i got it, what about holding hands?” he suggests, and yeonjun silently curses. his hands get clammy easily and he doesn’t know why the idea of holding his best friend’s hand made him nervous. they did it sometimes at the mall, but that’s only because beomgyu gets lost easily and likes to hold onto yeonjun for protection.

“uh... yeah, we could do that.” he shakily says.

beomgyu holds his palm out, and yeonjun just stares at it.

“well? are you just going to look at it, hyung or are you actually going to hold it?” taehyun says, observing them like they’re some type of movie on film.

“right....” he says, giving his hand to beomgyu who immediately interlaces his finger’s with yeonjun, but yeonjun’s fingers are not clasping with beomgyu, though they are stiff and straight, afraid to curve it into beomgyu’s hands.

“this is weird!” he shrieks, detaching his fingers from beomgyu who looks slightly offended.

taehyun laughs his head off in his chair and claps in glee as he watched the pair struggle to look like a real couple.

they’ve got an awful long way to go.

“hyung!” beomgyu groans, scolding yeonjun.

“what!” yeonjun protests.

“it’s supposed to be weird in the first place, which is why we’re practicing!you need to get over it and just do it because youre making it look fake,” he whines, stomping his foot on the thin floor and yeonjun almost scolds him for it because it will make a loud noise to the neighbors downstairs, and they weren’t very friendly.

“okay, fine.” he pouts, holding his hand back out for beomgyu to take.

“hey twat— i mean taehyun, be honest and tell us if this looks believable. and if it looks weird and unnatural tell us how to fix it.” beomgyu orders the younger boy, who in turn rolls his eyes at the silver haired’s bossiness.

beomgyu scoots closet to yeonjun, slightly resting his forehead on yeonjun’s shoulder. slowly trailing his way towards the older boy’s hand, beomgyu’s slips his fingers under yeonjun’s larger ones and clasps around his palm for the warmth. the older boy feels his heart beat faster at the newfound company of beomgyu’s tiny hand, and he could oddly hear the sound of his own heart beating in his chest. he convinces himself that he’s only nervous because he wants it to be perfect and doesn’t want to ruin anything for beomgyu but something is telling him there’s more to it.

they keep both of their eyes gazed into the tv, watching some reality tv show program that yeonjun almost forgets they’re practicing, getting too comfortable with cuddling and holding hands with beomgyu.

“woah.... okay lovebirds, you sure you haven’t done this before?” taehyun smirks, raising his eyebrows up and down while putting on a pair of seductive eyes.

“yay! does it look real, taehyun?” beomgyu exclaims, detaching his hands from yeonjun’s, and suddenly it feels cold.

“yeah, almost as if it’s not fake at all! you guys are good!” he encourages the two, but only beomgyu’s seems to pay attention to the compliment because yeonjun is still hung over the fact that his hand feels cold again.

“okay, how about you two practice kissing each other’s cheeks since holding hands seemed too easy for you.” taehyun suggests, lying upside down on the comfy chair so that his head was on the seat portion and his feet were kicked up. “or have you guys already done that as well?” he asks, rolling his eyes.

to be fair, they kind of have.

“i mean, i always kiss his forehead before like bed or something, or whenever i drop him off to class but i hardly ever kiss his cheek because that’s weird...” he says, body cringing just at the thought of his lips having to collide with beomgyu’s soft delicate skin.

“yeah... now that i think of it, that’s kind of weird,” agrees the silver haired boy, nose scrunching slightly in disgust while yeonjun does the same.

“well yeonjun, since you went first on the last one, beomgyu, why don’t you kiss his cheek?” taehyun looks at them from an upside down angle and later starts laughing about how funny they look before sitting up properly and complaining about how much it hurt his head.

“tae, that’s weird!” complains beomgyu.

“okay well just saying, you guys need practice cause you both need to stop looking awkward. i’m already trying to help you guys but fine, if you don’t need my help i’m leaving.” he pouts, throwing his jacket over his shoulder to pretend to leave, because he knew that packing up his stuff always made beomgyu beg for him to come back, and it worked.

“okay, fine! stay here.” he begs, holding his arms out asking taehyun to stay.

“it shouldn’t be that bad, right?” yeonjun says to beomgyu, head tilted into his shoulder to stop himself from cringing.

“yeah....” beomgyu trails.

“okay,” he breathes in. yeonjun from the corner of his eyes could see the way beomgyu’s pink lips are plumped and pouted out. he slowly feels the heat of beomgyu moving his lips closer to his cheek and waits for the boy’s soft lips to collide with his left cheek, but all of a sudden he hears a snort and beomgyu immediately pulls back.

“ew, ew, ew! i can’t do this, it’s so weird!” he laughs, slapping the cushion of the couch.

yeonjun almost feels offended, but before he knows if, he’s laughing as well. he leans into beomgyu and they’re both laughing at each other whilst trying to get words out, only coming out as incoherent wheezes. they playfully shove each other while laughing and the next thing he knows, they both have tears streaming down their eyes and their laughs are so loud that they turn silent.

“man you guys are gross. it’s like you guys are really a thing.” taehyun’s voice breaks them out of their fits of laughters.

“god, we have so much to work on.”

* * *

later that night, yeonjun and beomgyu practice holding hands some more after taehyun leaves, but they refrain from trying to kiss each other’s cheeks because they’ll just wound up laughing and spitting in each other’s faces.

once they go into the bathroom, they brush their teeth together while looking at themselves in the mirror. beomgyu is next to yeonjun, while yeonjun has his elbow rested against beomgyu’s shoulder as he brushes. they both make funny faces at each other in the mirror, laughing and dribbling toothpaste out the their mouths which causes toothpaste stains to fly onto the mirror. they later on fight about who has to clean it, but it’s completely useless since they end up cleaning it together anyways.

once they walk back to yeonjun’s room to finally sleep, beomgyu takes a quick stop to go into his own room to grab his charger and ignores the way his room is literally dusting up since he barely sleeps there.

he goes on his side of the bed, before yeonjun crawls under the covers and lies on his side, tapping away on his phone, facing beomgyu.

beomgyu—who was previously lying on his back— lies on his side so that he’s facing yeonjun. he looks at the way yeonjun is furrowing his eyebrows at his phone to see better, and he brings his fingers to his head to swipe away the hair covering his eyes. “hyung, do you think jihyun will like me?” beomgyu whispers.

“he’d be crazy not to. he’s just playing hard to get.” he chuckles, locking his phone. “i mean, you already saw that flirty text he sent you.”

“i know....” beomgyu drags out his words, “but what if i’m just wasting my time on him? and what if he doesn’t like me?”

yeonjun sucks his teeth in before coming closer to wrap his hands around beomgyu’s waist. “well, then he’s fucking missing out, and you don’t deserve anyone who doesn’t appreciate you enough anyways.” he whispers to beomgyu before turning around to shut the lamp off, snaking his arms around beomgyu’s tiny waist once again.

“now, let’s go to sleep because i’m really tired, okay?” he leans over, and instead of giving beomgyu his nightly forehead kiss, he goes down just a couple of inches and lands a kiss in the region just right below his eyes, slightly on his cheek.

“hey,” beomgyu smiles.

“what?”

“you just kissed my cheek.” beomgyu rubs little shapes using this thumb on the surface of yeonjun’s face. 

“guess we’re getting better at this, huh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hopefully this chapter was okay and wasn’t too boring hahahah i’m so glad ppl are commenting and telling me they actually enjoy the story bc i write for u guys so it’s nice seeing that u guys actually like it 
> 
> i’d love to see what everyone’s favorite scenes were, and if you’d like to participate it the qotds so we can learn more about each other pls feel free to do so!! 
> 
> see u next chapter <3


	6. uh oh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone!! i am back from my four month hiatus.
> 
> i just wanted to start off by saying sorry for disappearing without saying anything bc i know a few of you were really waiting on my story but a lot of stuff happened the past months and i needed to take care of it and i forgot about my books:( i haven’t updated since comeback season and i am extremely sorry but i am happy to say i’ll be back on track now!
> 
> i don’t even know if people are still interested in this book after leaving for so long but thank you to everyone who’s still reading. 
> 
> i also wanted to say that your comments always make my day and i respond to everyone! i would love to see your thoughts on this chapter and if i should continue my updates!! 
> 
> i am so excited for this fandom and i’m so proud of our boys for accomplishing so much. i know this group and fandom is soooo baby we hardly have any aus and fics so hopefully this will be one that you guys can enjoy!! 
> 
> with that being said, here are your set of qotds: 
> 
> 1.) which member do you act the most like and why? 
> 
> 2.) what genre are you expecting for their next comeback? 
> 
> 3.) all time favorite performance from the boys? 
> 
> also do not let the chapter title scare you, but uhhh read it with cautious is all i’m gonna say hehe
> 
> happy reading! <3

yeonjun internally groans to himself when he hears somewhat heavy pounding coming from the front door. it was 10am on a weekend and he and beomgyu had no plans of getting up before noon.

“hyunggg..... get it pleaseee,” beomgyu groans in his sleep, wrapping his fingers around yeonjun’s wrist. yeonjun winces at the cold contact he feels around it.

“my god, beomgyu you’re freezing. are you okay?” he softly asks, blocking out the knocking he hears in the background.

“c-cold... and head hurts.” the silver-haired boy pouts like a little kid and yeonjun immediately goes on protection mode.

“okay, okay. hyung’s gonna go get some blankets for you and medicine, okay? do you want me to make you some soup or something?” yeonjun is already rapidly tucking beomgyu in deeper to the covers and is using the palm of his hands to feel for beomgyu’s forehead.

“yes please...” he strains through his thick voice, and yeonjun can already feel his heart twitching at the pain of seeing beomgyu in pain.

“okay, just take a rest. i think you have a fever. you’re burning but also freezing, so let hyung know if you need anything, okay? i’ll be in the kitchen. and i need to get the fucking door, whoever it is won’t give it a rest. i swear to god if it’s one of my brothers or taehyun i won’t open it up for them.” yeonjun jokingly teases, making beomgyu release the tiniest chuckle even if he was in immense pain.

“thank you, yeonjunnie-hyung. i’m sorry if i’m making you do extra work...” beomgyu whispers as yeonjun starts walking his way out the door.

yeonjun pouts.

“no, it’s okay bub. don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault. and it’s not extra work, i’ll take care of you.” walking over to beomgyu, he brushes the boy’s hair out of his face, and his forehead is burning. yeonjun leans down and presses a soft kiss to his burning forehead and beomgyu just closes his eyes and sighs.

yeonjun smiles to himself while leaving the room and his smile immediately drops when the pounding sound of a fist hitting against the door snaps him out of his trance. his worries weren’t necessarily that it was annoying him. yeonjun didn’t mind the loud noise because growing up with brothers like huening kai and soobin contained more noise than that. but his worries were more of that it was probably bothering beomgyu, especially with the fever he was having right now and he wanted beomgyu to get a rest peacefully. and this person behind the door was doing everything but that.

“taehyun i swear to god if that’s you i’m gonna—oh? uh... jihoon?” he smirks, knowing damn well he knows what the boy’s name was but he wanted to give him a little taste of his own medicine.

the other boy clenches his jaw in annoyance but all yeonjun could think about was _why the fuck was jihyun banging on his door at 10 in the fucking morning?_

“uh, no... it’s jihyun actually.” he says through gritted teeth, and that’s when yeonjun knows he’s successfully irritated the fuck out of him.

raising his eyebrows in irritation, he crosses his arms as he leans against the doorframe to patronize the arrogant boy even more. “look man, i don’t want to be rude or anything but beom and i are kind of having a rough morning so if you could just come back later, or i’ll tell him you stopped by, that would be great.”

the genuineness of yeonjun’s tone was not present whatsoever, and he delivered it in a way to make sure jihyun knows that yeonjun quite honestly doesn’t care what reason he’s there for. he just wants him to leave right this moment.

“uh beomgyu actually invited me last night and said to come over this morning because we were gonna watch movies. he’s been such a good friend in trying to cheer me up so if you could just step aside, that’d be great because i don’t want to keep him waiting and act like i didn’t want to show up.” yeonjun’s ears burn red just at having to hear this man’s voice. he bit his tongue to ignore the slight anger he felt towards beomgyu for not informing him beforehand, but it vanished quickly.

“dude, i don’t mean to be pushy but my boyfriend’s sick and i need to take care of him so maybe come back another day, okay?” he started blocking the door with his whole body, using a bit of force because jihyun seems to be pushing his way through.

what took him by surprise was how quick the word _boyfriend_ was to slip out of his mouth without thought. though he convinced himself that he’s gotten really good at playing this little game of lies.

“can you at least let me see him or something? maybe i can help because my moms a doc-”

“no, i can do it. you can leave, i don’t really need your hel-”

“jihyun-hyung... come in.” a throaty mumble is heard from behind them, and the two stop their banter to turn around and observe where the voice came from.

yeonjun turns around and sees beomgyu with droopy eyes, the bottom of it almost nearing the color purple. he had a huge blanket draped over his back, hugging his shoulder as each side meets in the middle of his chest. his head was hung low and his voice hardly even sounded like himself. yeonjun didn’t like seeing his always-happy best friend so down. seeing beomgyu in pain hurt his heart just a little too much.

“but-”

“it’s okay, hyung. i’m feeling slightly better. you can let him in, i promised i’d hang with him and watch movies today. i’m pretty sure this fever will go away as soon i drink medicine and have a bowl of soup or something.” yeonjun tilts his head to observe the way beomgyu looks slightly better than he did this morning, but he was still obviously in a lot of pain and yeonjun wasn’t sure that a movie marathon would be the best thing for him right now.

forgetting that jihyun was standing in front of him, he faces the man’s direction to see a disgusting smirk on his face that he so badly want to slap off.

“babe, you’re a little sick aren’t you? why don’t you take the day to rest and he can come back tomorrow.” yeonjun suggests, causing jihyun to roll his eyes far enough to see the back of his head.

“i have plans tomorrow, dude.”

yeonjun mockingly pouts and him and feigns sadness. “aw, well that’s just too bad is it? maybe next week.” he attempts to shut the door in jihyun’s face, but beomgyu’s is quick to react and cuts in before yeonjun fully shuts it.

“no, no. let him in.” beomgyu demands, having annoyance in his voice as he glares at yeonjun.

jihyun walks past yeonjun, purposefully bumping yeonjun’s shoulder and all the boy could do about it is huff out a breath of annoyance because beomgyu couldn’t handle an argument between the two right now. as soon as jihyun finds himself comfortable on the couch, beomgyu excused himself for a moment and says he’s going to pull out a couple of snacks before walking past yeonjun.

“you don’t have to be rude, you know?” he bitterly says with a hint of anger hidden in his eyes.

“rude? you’re calling me rude? i’m not the one who came into someone’s apartment uninvited and forced their way through.” yeonjun pointed his head towards jihyun’s direction who was busy lying on yeonjun’s favorite couch pillow as he scrolls on his phone’s newsfeed.

“shut up, he’ll hear you! come into the kitchen.” beomgyu scolds him, pulling him by the sleeve into the kitchen to distance themselves away from jihyun in fear of him overhearing their concversation.

“and he didn’t come uninvited, okay! i literally invited him so if that’s a problem for you, i truly don’t know what to tell you. you don’t have to be so rude to him, especially since he just went through a break up. be a little nicer would you?” coughing haphazardly after speaking, beomgyu brings the inside of his elbow against his mouth the prevent any germs from spreading.

“why are you getting mad at me? i was literally only caring for you because i knew you were fucking sick and didn’t want him to come over because i knew you were too tired to watch movies all day. i wanted to stay in and take care of you so that you didn’t have to do much. i told him he could come another day but he just wasn’t budging.” with a bit of edge to his voice, yeonjun swallows the lump in his throat because it seems as if beomgyu’s were blaming him. he didn’t want to argue.

“yeah? well you’re being rude. you didn’t have to block the door like that and mock him. i don’t want him to feel uninvited in our home and you’re doing just that.” the silver haired boy was getting a little choosy with his words an yeonjun could tell how much beomgyu cared for jihyun.

if only beomgyu cared for yeonjun the same way.

“look, i didn’t mean to upset you, okay? i just wanted to-“

“well you did, okay? so drop it.”

beomgyu walks pass by him and pulls out a couple of snack in the pantry before giving yeonjun another look. “if you wanna join us you can. just... don’t be mean.”

“do you still want me to cook you soup?” yeonjun shyly asks, keeping his eyes glued to his feet in case beomgyu lashes out again.

“whatever you wanna do.” is all beomgyu says before walking away and taking a seat on the couch next to jihyun. yeonjun extends his neck to make sure jihyun doesn’t make any moves, but beomgyu was smart enough to distance himself away just a bit so that there was a good amount of space between him and the other man.

slouching his shoulders, yeonjun pulls out all the ingredients outside of the pantry and quickly makes the broth of the soup. he turns around every once in a while to make sure the gap between the two is still there and he smiles to himself when he realizes that the space has gotten somewhat bigger. turning his attention back into the soup, he cooks with a pout and adjusts the flavor when he realizes he made it a bit too spicy, and beomgyu wasn’t too fond of spice as he was.

once it’s fully heated and cooked, he pours the soup into beomgyu’s favourite bowl and grabs a tray, placing the bowl on top. he grabs a glass of water along with his medicine and puts it on a napkin before placing it on the tray as well. yeonjun goes as far as adding his favorite chips and a couple of slices of fruit to help beomgyu’s immune system with the slight fever he was fighting.

he grabs a black ink pen and slips in a little _“i’m sorry :(“_ on the napkin before grabbing the tray and walking towards the living room area where jihyun and beomgyu were.

yeonjun attempts to make his way through, but jihyun had his feet rudely tossed up against the coffee table. that was normally a bad habit the beomgyu scolded yeonjun for doing, so it was a surprise to yeonjun that beomgyu had not even told jihyun to kick his feet off of the coffee table.

“um, excuse me jihyun, do you mind putting down your feet. i’m sorry, i need to get through to beom.” yeonjun lowly says, acting as nice as possible, his voice almost coming out as a pout at the fact of having to be nice to jihyun but that’s what beomgyu wanted.

jihyun kept his eyes glued on the tv, moving his feet down to the ground before yeonjun passes his way through and gives the tray to beomgyu. beomgyu silently takes the tray from him, and yeonjun could swear he could see the corners of his lips slightly tug, before going back down again. his eyes wander to the napkin before blowing his nose into it, and that was enough for yeonjun to know that the younger boy was probably still a little mad.

“if you need me i’ll be in the kitchen doing my homework, okay? eat as much as you can, but if you can’t finish it that’s okay. please take your medicine, okay?” bending down, yeonjun cards his fingers through beomgyu’s hair before pushing them to the side to plant a soft kiss. he ignores the way his forehead is still slightly burning from the fever, but he plants another kiss just to be safe before walking away and grabbing his laptop.

as he takes a couple more steps and reaches the kitchen, he takes a seat on theisland to get a good view of the two and to make sure jihyun doesn’t try to pull anything funny. once he opens his laptop to do “homework” he exes out of his homework tab immediately and instead opens up netflix to watch _We Bare Bears_. it was his and beomgyu’s favorite cartoon show. the two would always watch it together before bed. beomgyu absolutely loved watching the show at any time of day, and it just felt wrong to yeonjun as he watches it alone. it wasn’t as if yeonjun were watching anyways. he was too distracted at the fact that jihyun kept trying to move closer any opportunity he got. the gap between the two got even smaller since the last time yeonjun saw and he discreetly clenches his jaw to hide his sudden jealously.

the meshing of beomgyu’s and jihyun’s laughter together just blended far too naturally into the atmosphere of the room and yeonjun wasn’t quite liking it. beomgyu only laughs like that when he’s with yeonjun. only yeonjun can make beomgyu laugh that way, that is, unless huening kai does something extremely stupid. the same laughter that comes out of beomgyu’s mouth is the same laughter he’s emitting once jihyun makes a “funny” comment about one of the characters in the movie.

yeonjun doesn’t notice he’s glaring until the sound of the episode credits come rolling into his ears, snapping him out of his daze, and only then does he realize he’s throwing daggers at the boy.

the chemistry between the pair on the couch was a bit alarming. it was scary. beomgyu and yeonjun were a bit different from each other. there were things that beomgyu liked that yeonjun didn’t, and some things beomgyu liked that yeonjun didn’t. beomgyu was always a loud and energetic person, very social, and he was able to boost up the mood in any room. yeonjun on the other hand was a bit more on the calm side, but could be loud when he wanted. he was more to himself and not as outgoing as beomgyu was, but their differences is what made them get along so well. they were so similar yet so different from each other which is the reason why they were so fit for each other. 

jihyun, on the other hand matches beomgyu’s personality far too much, it scares yeonjun a bit. they were both loud and energetic, and laughed at almost anything said. yeonjun always wondered what it would be like if he and beomgyu matched personalities and how well their chemistry would be, but he no longer had to wonder because the results were in front of him. beomgyu looked so comfortable in front of jihyun and wasn’t afraid to let out the loudest laugh. yeonjun wasn’t too happy with the fact that the two got along so well.

he didn’t like it.

before yeonjun could dive deeper into his thoughts, the sound of the doorbell interrupts him and he buries his head into the table before leaving his seat to answer it.

“i’ll get it.” he softly says to beomgyu, who only returns with a head nod.

“god, who else is visiting today oh my god.” he mutters under his breath before wrapping his hands around the knob and pulling it open with way too much force than needed.

“woah, someone’s angry.” huening kai says, the second yeonjun pulls the door open.

“what are the three of you doing here? oh my goddddd go homeee.” he groans, dragging out the last bit of his words before slouchily running back to the kitchen into his seat.

“hyungggg,” soobin whines. “taehyun, huening, and i were playing football inside our house and huening kai kicked the ball towards our wifi router so it broke and now we’re here to steal some of yours. don’t worry though, someone’s coming to fix it tomorrow, but as of now we’re kind of really bored and don’t have wifi to go on our phones or watch our shows, so here we are.” soobin explain, as he makes himself comfortable already searching through the fridge while taehyun already has a pack of chips from the pantry.

“woahhh.... wait who is that?” huening kai whispers to taehyun, pointing at the guy sitting besides beomgyu’s, while taehyun tries to prevent huening kai from pointing any further to make it less obvious.

“shh! i’ll tell you later...” taehyun whispers back, slightly moving his lips in hopes of not making it obvious but all that ever does is attract more attention.

“hi guys, you can come watch with us if you want.” beomgyu attempts to yell, but fails as his throat gives up on him. yeonjun just wishes that’s he’s take a rest and have a nap instead of watching a movie and entertaining jihyun.

“oh, we’re good. thank you though, we’re just gonna go in the kitchen and annoy yeonjun-hyung.” taehyun adds, taking a seat next to yeonjun on the island.

beomgyu nods his head in agreement and sniffles before turning back around and paying his attention back onto the movie.

huening kai is on the kitchen table and pulls out his laptop and his books, and to yeonjun’s surprise, actually does his homework. soobin is pulling out instant ramen, and taehyun sits next to yeonjun and plays with his deck of cards. it’s still astounding to yeonjun how natural the three were just able to bombard his apartment without much explanation. and even worse, how easy it was for yeonjun to say yes to them.

“why were you guys playing football inside your apartment anyways?” he questions, attempting to sound irritated, though his tone lacked any real conviction.

“cause we were bored? duh, why else?” soobin sassily spits from the back of the kitchen, cooking up his noodles.

“wait, anyways... who’s uh, that guy?” huening kai chimes in, looking up from his homework, putting his pencil down, and rests his chin in the palm of his hands as if he were expecting a long story.

“is that the guy taehyunnie was telling soobin-hyung and me about? by the way, we heard about you and beomgyu-hyung fake dating and good luck with that. we’ll see how long that lasts.” the dark haired boy adds before giggling uncontrollably as soobin joins in while taehyun watches them in disgust.

yeonjun was always thankful for taehyun for keeping his brothers in tact because without taehyun, these two would go completely insane.

“first of all, keep your voice down you nosy brat, they’ll hear us,” yeonjun whisper-yells, pressing his pointer finger in front of his pouty lips. “second of all, yes, that’s the guy taehyun’s been telling you about. his name is jihyun and beomgyu really likes him. and third of all, mind your business huening kai. i’m doing it to help him and it seems to be working because the jihyun guy is getting a little jealous.” yeonjun says all in one breath while soobin and huening kai look at him in extreme confusion. taehyun just shrugs because none of this is new to him. the other two missed out.

“wow... that sounds a little rough.” he shrills, before losing his attention quickly. “well, anyways... tell me how that goes. but right now i need to do my homework because it was due like two days ago but whatever.”

yeonjun’s eyes widen at the fact that his brother is doing his homework that was meant to be turned in two days ago, but it doesn’t seem to phase him anymore because despite all that, huening kai was still able to get good grades and charm his way through. every time yeonjun looks at huening kai, he wishes he were taken back to high school because college was kicking his ass.

“oh, hyung. are you watching that? cause i wanna watch too.” taehyun points at _We Bare Bears_ streaming’s on yeonjun’s laptop while shuffling his cards. yeonjun is hardly paying attention to what the boy is saying because his attention is all focused on beomgyu and jihyun sitting on the couch, inching closer and closer to each other.

“uh, yeah. you can watch, go ahead.” he replies, not paying much head towards the conversation.

“actually, no! wanna see a magic trick?” taehyun offers, holding up his deck of cards far too close to yeonjun’s face, who in turn sucks in his teeth and pushes the cards away.

“uh, yeah... sure,” yeonjun mumbles, hardly paying attention to the younger one as he is carefully observing beomgyu and jihyun.

“now, look as i am able to change this card within the snap of my— hyungggg, are you even paying attention?” the younger boy whines as yeonjun’s attention is more focused on the two boys sitting on the couch, and not on taehyun’s magic act.

“uh huh... sorry, what?” the blue-haired boy shakes his head to snap himself out of his trance and turns his head to taehyun who had his eyebrows angrily furrowed as he was still holding up his cards.

“ooohhh! is taehyun doing a magic trick!” soobin exclaims, clapping his hands. “i wanna see!”

huening kai—who had finally focused his attention on his homework— turns his head and abandons his assignment as he giggles into fits of laughter before joining the chaos. “me too, me too! taehyunnie, do that thing where you-“

yeonjun snaps his head towards his younger brother and raises his eyebrows the way a scolding older brother would. “nuh uh, you go and sit your ass back in that chair and finish your homework. you even said it, that was due two days ago huening kai. so go finish it. or i’ll tell mom, do you want that?” crossing his arms, yeonjun raises his eyebrows even higher as he wants for huening kai to give him answer.

huening kai hangs his head low and returns back to his seat, “no, hyung...” he quietly lets out after the scolding yeonjun gave him.

“aw, hyung you don’t have to be so harsh on hyuka.” taehyun suggests, ready to coddle the youngest of the bunch.

“he’s the one not doing his homework! i’m just trying to help him.” yeonjun defends himself, though the rest of the boys were very much too in love with huening kai to side with yeonjun.

“yeah, he tends to think he can tell people what to do.” beomgyu sneakily remarks from the living room, causing thick tension in the atmosphere and all heads snap up at the same time.

“wow, you’re one to talk,” yeonjun mumbles under his breath quietly, but loud enough for beomgyu to hear.

beomgyu, displeased with yeonjun’s remark, turns his head to the side before turning completely around to lock eyes with the older boy. “oh really? because last time i checked you were-”

“woah, woah, woahhh.. guys, no fighting. c’mon now.” soobin chimes in, cutting in between the argument before it could get heated. the rest of the boys exchange awkward glances between each other, unsure of what to do. “please keep the couple arguments inside of the bedroom. we’re tryna have a good time, alright?” soobin grins, attempting to lighten the mood but beomgyu continues to roll his eyes at yeonjun.

“whatever, i’ll just finish my movie.” he sighs exaggeratedly, making sure yeonjun hears the dramatics behind it.

* * *

“thanks beomgyu for giving me the day off. i really needed it because my minds been everywhere ever since after the... you know...” jihyun has his hands shoved nervously inside his pockets as beomgyu leads him to the door after they finish their movie marathon. yeonjun can’t help but glare at the man that soobin has to pinch his thigh to refrain him from throwing daggers at the young man.

“no, it’s no big deal! i’m glad it helped, hyung. but just call me whenever or text me if you need anything. anything at all,” beomgyu runs his hands down jihyun’s shoulder in a comforting manner. “and i’m sorry about my boyfriend. he was just a little cranky. and to those three over there. i am also extremely sorry. they’re like toddlers who’ve lost their parents.” he rolls his eyes, raising his volume extra loud to ensure that the other three have heard him.

yeonjun smirks, a little too distracted by hearing the word “_boyfriend_” roll off of beomgyu’s tongue so naturally. it felt satisfying to his ears and left a warm feeling in his stomach.

“bye guys, thanks for having me over.” jihyun waves his hand in the air before they all give him quiet little hums in return, clearly not paying much heed towards his departure.

once beomgyu shut the door, he leans his back against it and releases a loud sigh, before giggling to himself as if he were in his own little word. the four boys look at him like he’s crazy, and yeonjun’s heart feels a bit heavy at the fact that one boy can have that much of an effect of beomgyu.

he’s not jealous though.

definitely not jealous.

“woah, calm down there heart eyes,” taehyun announces, snapping beomgyu out of his thoughts.

“dude, i’m like... in love with that guy i think.” he jokingly says, but yeonjun takes that a bit too serious than he should have.

“i don’t wanna hear it, he seems like a douche, go write about it in your diary or something,” soobin says in jest, clearly joking until beomgyu glares at him. “okay, i’m joking!” he surrenders with his hands up as beomgyu threateningly walks up to him.

“yeah, s’what i thought,” beomgyu sneers, stealing a bite of soobin’s food, resulting into the boy pouting.

“anyways, beomgyu-hyung and yeonjunnie-hyung, can we please sleep over yours tonight? i promise we’ll be good. the man who is fixing our thingy doesn’t come until tomorrow at noon and i need wifi for my homework but i don’t wanna go to starbucks,” huening kai pleads with his doe eyes causing eruptions in both beomgyu’s and yeonjun’s stomach.

“oh my goodness, dude your brother’s so cute,” beomgyu pouts, turning to soobin before coddling huening kai and squealing at his cuteness. “of course you guys can stay, you don’t even have to ask. you guys can crash into my room. i’m sure it’s fine with yeonjun-hyung, right?”

“mhm..” he carelessly says, swiping through his phone, not in the mood to speak to beomgyu.

all the boys knew how beomgyu greatly despised it when someone wasn’t included into the conversation. he was somewhat very passionate about letting the other person speak and being as engaged as he could. every time he would return from dates, his complaints were always about how the guy wasn’t involved and nonchalant about the conversation. so when yeonjun returns only a little hum back, the other three look at him with wide eyes for being so brave.

“i’m sorry, did i do something?” the silver haired boy says, crossing his arms as a form of interrogation.

“alright guys, let’s go into the bedroom first and decide who gets to sleep where,” soobin lets out, noticing the tension before guiding taehyun and huening kai like little babies.

taehyun and huening kai just furrow their eyebrows in confusion, but allow soobin to drag their bodies to beomgyu’s room. yeonjun flashes him a look of relief as a silent way of saying thank you, and soobin shakes his head in sympathy.

his brothers were angels.

“no...” he shrugs, walking past beomgyu in attempts to escape into his room but beomgyu is quick to grab him by the waist and turn him around. usually, a gesture like this would make yeonjun’s heart jump, but even this can’t change his anger.

“woah, where are you going?” beomgyu asks with an edge in his voice, dropping his hands from yeonjun’s waist.

“to the bedroom?” yeonjun replies with an obvious tone, and beomgyu’s eyes soften at yeonjun’s harshness.

“sit down,” the smaller boy holds his hand out in front of the chair for yeonjun to sit in, who is quick to listen. the older boy takes a seat and beomgyu steps in between both of his thighs so that he is leveled with him.

“talk to me, what’s wrong?” the softness of beomgyu’s voice almost releases all of yeonjun’s worries.

“beom... what’s wrong? are you serious?” yeonjun scratches his head in irritation before beomgyu inches closer, resting his hands on yeonjun’s knees to try to understand his anger. “you literally completely ignored me the whole time today because the guy you were head over heels for came over. and that’s awesome! i’m so happy you’re happy, babe. i really am. but i’m upset because you were sick today and i wanted you to feel better and i also wanted to take care of you. when i saw you this morning, you clearly weren’t feeling good and i hate seeing you in pain so i really didn’t want you to spend the day with him today only because you were sick! and then you went on about how rude i was to him, which i won’t deny, i was. but he was rude to me too? and you had nothing to say. i guess i’m just a little upset that you dismissed me like that.”

“what, so you’re saying that i’m not capable of taking care of myself and need you to do it?” beomgyu backs up and yeonjun immediately widens his eyes.

“babe, no. that’s not what i meant. i know you’re completely capable of taking care of yourself. i just wish that you would do it more. it’s not bad to be selfish every one in a while.” yeonjun notices how fast the look in beomgyu’s eyes change. they begin to sharpen and look darker.

“well i could do what i want and don’t need anyone to do shit for me. i don’t know, it just seems like you’re not happy with me seeing jihyun, even if it’s just as friends. hyung, i can do things on my own.” beomgyu’s was no longer standing in between yeonjun’s thighs, but was pacing back and forth in the kitchen out of frustration.

“i know you can, and i’m sorry if i upset you but that’s really how i feel. i just wish you’d be selfish every once and a while. and don’t you think that maybe you hurt my feelings a little too? bub, i know you like him and seeing you so happy makes me so happy, i can’t even put it into words, but you were so quick to dismiss me and didn’t even try to listen to my side.” he began playing with his fingers, nervous at letting beomgyu know how left out he felt today.

“well then you should’ve told me!” beomgyu raises his voice, growing angry by the second.

“how could i if you were too busy giving heart eyes to him! i didn’t want to step in and try to talk to you because i know how happy he makes you and i didn’t want to ruin anything. and it frustrates me how he still refuses to see the good in you because of his dense ass fucking head. i didn’t want to let you know because i didn’t want to ruin your mood. you looked so happy and i wanted to keep it like that.” yeonjun’s hardly ever raises his voice at beomgyu, but this time was definitely one of them. if he weren’t as angry as he were right now, he would definitely call out the three boys peeking their heads from beomgyu’s bedroom, but that was in the least of his concerns.

“i just care about you, okay? so fucking much. so i’m sorry if that upsets you.” using the back of his hand to stop the tear from swimming down his cheek, yeonjun gets up from his seat when he realizes he couldn’t take it any longer. from his periphs, he notices the three boys rushing their heads back in the room once the commotion is all over but all that ever does is make it more obvious.

“i’m going to bed.”

once yeonjun reaches his room, he slams it a little harder than he should have and shuts the lights off into complete darkness. he peels the covers and hops into them, not even forgetting the way his bed already feels colder without the additional company he gets every night. the smell of his shampoo is already stuck onto the other pillow and yeonjun is immediately reminded of the other body that keeps him warm every night.

the arguments he’s been having with beomgyu’s weren’t fun at all.

tossing and turning, he sniffles in pain and tries to make the bed less bigger and less colder by taking up the space but beomgyu’s side of the bed felt too empty.

as he’s about to fall asleep, a thin strip of light shadows into his room and the sound of his door creaking brings him out of his slumber. he doesn’t even bother to turn around, but whoever it is fully switches the light on and shuts the door behind him. 

yeonjun didn’t want to talk to anyone right now.

“yeonjunnie-hyung?” huening kai softly whispers. yeonjun turns around to see his younger brother clutching his dolphin plush to his chest and his drowsiness was evident due to the red rims around his eyes.

“did you need something from me?” he questions, scrubbing his eyes at the sudden brightness of the lights.

“no... i just wanted to know if i can sleep with you tonight? i know you’re upset and that kinda makes me a little uneasy knowing you are so i just wanted to know if i can sleep with you? if not, that’s totally fine i completely understand if you want to be alone but-”

“get in here.” he smiles.

huening kai switches the lights off and rushes to beomgyu’s side of the bed, along with his dolphin plushy. yeonjun’s heart grows at the kindness of his younger brother.

his younger brother was too pure for this world.

he turns around, and even though they’re in the dark, yeonjun can feel huening kai staring at him. he runs his fingers through his younger’s brothers hair, something he’s been doing ever since they were little. he’s so glad he was blessed with such a pure and innocent brother like huening kai because despite him being older, he’d be completely lost without him. he cared a lot about his brothers feelings, and yeonjun completely adored him for that. he didn’t have one bad bone in his body.

“hyuka, i’m so glad to have you as a younger brother. i’m sorry i don’t say it enough.” he sniffles, carding his fingers through his hair.

“hyung, that’s kinda really gross but i’ll take that for now. i’m sorry you guys argued again. but i know you’ll be back on track, you guys always are. and don’t worry, taehyunnie told me to tell you not to worry about hyung. he’s got this.” huening kai says all while his eyes are closed, obviously very tired that yeonjun feels awful for keeping him awake.

“thank you, now go to sleep now. okay?goodnight.”

“goodnight, hyung.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooo.... how was it??? like i said, i am an angst writer so this book will be a little angsty but it’s just beginning so hopefully that wasn’t too bad hahaha and just a little reminder that i tend to write lengthy books so this might be 100-200k?? and if that’s not your thing that’s okay!! you can read the other wonderful aus on this tag. 
> 
> also i wrote this chapter all the way back in november and didn’t finish it until this week so i wrote the part a beomgyu’s fever a while ago, not knowing about covid19 yet and i know that’s a touchy subject so please stay safe everyone, wash your hands, and be cautious!! 
> 
> i really missed writing for your guys so let me know if this book is something you’d want me to continue!! i’d love to see everyone’s thoughts and theories of this chapter!!
> 
> what do we think about jihyun??? and who was your favorite character in this chapter?? i’d love to know what you think!! i try to keep my books as interactive as possible 
> 
> also i do this with my other book, but if you have twitter and want to talk ab it there, tweet ab ur thoughts and just make sure my user (whorific) or the title of my book is in your tweet so i can anonymously read them hehehe and i shout you out in the next chapter 
> 
> if you have any questions about the book pls let me know and i’d be glad to answer them!! leave your thoughts about this chapter because reading your comments is my favorite part of my day!! 
> 
> also, if you would like to participate in the qotd so we could get to know more about each other, please feel free to answer the questions because i love seeing how similar and different moas are from each other!! 
> 
> see you in the next chapter! <3
> 
> if ur still reading comment “pink haired soobin is superior. bighits wack for taking it away from us” kssjkskksk


	7. it’s hard being a part time mom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiii everyone!!!
> 
> how has everyone been??? before u read the chapter, just wanted to say that i truly apologize if this chapter seems badly written or rushed or something like that bc i rewrote it so many times but i just got frustrated with it and was like fuck it. i promise i’ll do better next chapter. so sorry if this was kinda trash lol 
> 
> also!!! a scene in this chapter was literally inspired by today’s x:time and it’s quite obvious so let me know if you know which scene hehe
> 
> also this chapter title kinda made me giggle but i thought it was fitting for one scene hehe
> 
> and one question: would u guys prefer for me to update on a schedule??? usually it’s once a week but it will maybe be twice?? i usually update on fridays or saturdays but let me know what day you guys prefer. 
> 
> i’m so sorry if this chapter sucks but hopefully you still enjoy it somewhat. with that being said, 
> 
> here are today’s qotds:
> 
> 1.) omg this might start a war zone in the comment section but what’s an unpopular opinion you have about the fandom/group? (e.g. nap of a star isn’t really for me) naos stans pls don’t kill me 
> 
> 2.) if you could trade fashion senses with one of the boys, who would it be?
> 
> 3.) what new hair colors would you like to see on the boys for next cb? (e.g. if they give me silver haired taehyun it’ll be the end of me i swear) 
> 
> happy reading! <3

yeonjun really needs to stop waking up late every time he cries himself to sleep.

he turns over to see beomgyu’s side empty, not even huening kai keeping the spot warm. what he does hear though is chattering coming from outside of his door and leaving his room was one of the things he was trying to avoid today.

deciding whether or not it would be a good idea to quickly peek outside and hang out with the boys, he scrubs his eyes and groans when he realizes beomgyu will most likely be there, and he doesn’t want to upset the younger boy any further.

before he can come up with a decision, huening kai barges into his room.

“hyungie, soobinie-hyung and taehyunnie and i are heading back to the apartment now. the two didn’t want to interrupt your sleep but they just wanted to let you know we’re leaving. thanks for letting us stay the night.” yeonjun’s a little disappointed in himself that he woke up far too late to even spend time with his brother’s, but he seemed to be forgiven easily by the younger.

“you’re leaving already? okay, take care. stay safe. and the two can come in and say bye if they want.” yeonjun lets him know as huening kai walks towards the older boy’s bed.

taehyun and soobin peak their heads from behind the doorframe slyly before making their way into the room. they walk towards yeonjun before giving him a hug, as the older boy returns with a peck on each of the top of their heads.

“take care you guys. no fighting and remember to do your dishes, okay? i love you guys.” he scolds in a calming and half awake manner but becomes gentle as soon as he plants a kiss into their hair. he was always known to be so motherly to all of the four boys.

“love you hyung.” the three all said in unison but there was obvious tension in the room that yeonjun was able to read between two of the three. soobin rocks back and forth between his heels and toes while hooking his pointer fingers against each other behind his back while eyeing the floor awkwardly.

“too bad, hyung. they’re already fighting,” soobin softly says, pointing to huening kai and taehyun who then return each other the same pair of glares that beomgyu and yeonjun were throwing each other last night.

yeonjun sits up from his bed and tilts his head, “what do you mean fighting?” he questions as the two stay silent.

yeonjun stares back and forth between taehyun and huening kai hoping for someone to speak up first, but it seems as if the two were just silently screaming at each other in their heads and yeonjun almost rolls his eyes, but that would make him a hypocrite. he had no idea what the two were fighting about, but that was him and beomgyu just last night and only then does he realize how ridiculous it was of him and his best friend to be fighting about something not as important that spiraled into something huge. 

“well i wasn’t the one who bought a snake as a pet without permission from my roommates, and then tell them the day that he’s picking the snake up,” huening kai spits with absolute bitterness bubbling on every inch of his tongue.

“grow up,” taehyun mutters under his breath all while soobin tries to bite through a smirk trying to sneak its way through his face. yeonjun gives him those warning eyes to signify him to stop laughing.

“i’m guessing that taehyunnie bought a snake without telling you guys and now hyuka is mad because he doesn’t really like snakes but taehyun really wants to keep it,” yeonjun guesses just from the aura of the conversation. he was no psychic but he knew all these boys like the back of his hand, and it was very evident that theirargument had something to do with that.

“hyung, you’re spot on oh my god.” soobin says in awe, but the conversation wasn’t a hard one to read. quite frankly, it was easy to guess. an eight year old could have probably known why the two were fueding. soobin was just easily fascinated by his older brother’s antics.

“guys, come on. don’t fight. you guys are best friends,” yeonjun softly says all while taehyun and huening kai are throwing daggers at each other.

“so? you and beomgyu-hyungie are fighting. which by the way, he’s in his room probably crying so maybe you should go check on thatlater or something.” taehyun retaliates, and yeonjun tries to open his mouth to deny it but he clearly has nothing.

“i know but that’s different. we’re fighting over something complex. you guys are fighting over a snake. a fucking snake.”

“a snake that he didn’t ask permission for!” huening kai screams in frustration, and yeonjun understands where he’s coming from, though he also knows where taehyun is coming from two.

“bubs, if taehyun paid for the snake on his own and you’re not his parent, i’m sure taehyunnie is allowed to have a snake,” he softly explains to huening kai in the nicest way possible since he was obviously far too frustrated and was losing it at this point.

huening kai crosses his arms and jutted his bottom lip out before sitting down next to yeonjun on his bed for protection.

“but i’m his roommate. and that snake is going to be under the same roof as me and it would’ve been nice for a heads up that an animal that could possibly kill me will be living with me!” he cries, resting his head on yeonjun’s shoulder who is then quick to wrap an arm around him.

“i’ve been telling you that i’ve been wanting one for a long time. and corn snakes are non-venomous. they can’t kill you,” taehyun smart assily says, which only offends huening kai more. yeonjun bites his lips to hide his smirk, the same way soobin was doing just a few minutes ago. yeonjun knew how sensitive his younger brother could be, so he tried to be more understanding of his feelings. “plus, soobinie is my roommate too but he didn’t complain for shit!”

soobin holds his hands up in defense as a way of saying he wasn’t going to involve himself in the argument so he quietly backs up and watches from afar.

“still. you could’ve told me,” he pouts and sinks his head deeper into the region between yeonjun’s shoulder and neck.

yeonjun strokes the hair behind huening kai’s neck and shakes his head at how silly these two were being. they were arguing about a snake and it seemed like the end of the world. their friendship reminded yeonjun so much of his and beomgyu’s friendship and that was probably the reason why he was more amused at the argument than worried. because he knew that these two would always find their way back. they always do. they go from fighting over the last piece of chocolate, to whether dogs or cats are better, to whose turn it is to take the trash out, to fighting about a snake. it was silly, but it was part of being friends.

“yeonjunnie, do something before my head pops off,” soobin whines at the headache that the two youngest ones are giving him. yeonjun wishes he could do something about it as well but he knows this is a situation that the two can only fix themselves.

yeonjun takes a deep sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose before looking back up at them again. “look, i love you both. you guys are my baby brothers. you too taehyun, but you guys are fighting over something silly, okay? taehyunnie, i’m glad you finally got your snake but i guess you should have at least given the boys a heads up. and you hyuka, i know you’re upset and are not too fond of snakes but taehyun is a grown up who can make his own decisions. but i do understand why you’re upset. i’m sure you two babies can come up with an agreement. you guys always do. and soobin-hyung will help you if you get stuck. right, soobin?” yeonjun raises his eyebrows at the taller boy who is just desperately waiting to go home, and not trying to get lectured by his older brother.

“right...” soobin gives in.

“okay, okay. fine.” taehyun breathily gives in through a pout while huening kai decides to agree not long after.

“you guys will be fine. i promise. and it’s just a snake. call me if you need anything. anything at all, okay? and hyuka, if the snake escapes the enclosure in the middle of the night and crawls into your bed and eats your plushies, you are more than welcome to come over and sleep with me.” yeonjun slips in a joke to lighten the tense atmosphere which has seemed to work because the two are now lightly smiling as opposed to the glares they were holding prior.

“i swear to god hyung i’ll kill you,” he jokingly threatens, pointing a finger aggressively towards the older boy’s direction.

“go home!” he laughs, facetiously shoving the three out of his room. “i love you guys, stay safe and text me when you get home.”

“we love you too.” they shout at the same time before heading out and leaving beomgyu and yeonjun’s apartment.

yeonjun hides back into his room and collapses face first into his comfortable nest of pillows on his bed. it wasn’t much, but the conversation was exhausting.

sometimes it was hard being a part time mom.

* * *

when yeonjun realizes two hours later that he hadn’t eaten the whole day and his stomach was basically growling a song at him for the past twenty minutes, he begins fighting with the angel and devil on his shoulders whether he should suck it up and be the bigger person to go out into the kitchen and feed his grumbling stomach, or be immature and petty and wait till beomgyu makes the first move and speaks up.

the fast food commercial videos on his tv wasn’t helping him either in his case, so he groans and takes off his blanket before sucking up his pride and opens his door hoping that beomgyu wasnt in the living room. but there he was wrapped up in a blanket while watching some movie on the tv. walking to the kitchen without making any eye contact, yeonjun tries his best to look for something in the fridge, but it isn’t until the silver haired boy turns around and speaks up.

“hyung, i bought you something from across the street earlier. you can just heat it up if you want it i guess.” beomgyu shyly explains, fiddling with his fingers to express his anxiousness. yeonjun opens the fridge to see that beomgyu had bought him ramyeon from his favorite ramyeon place from across the street as long with a couple of his favorite convenience stores snack stacked up against the counter.

“thanks,” he dryly says, and that was enough for beomgyu to know that perhaps the older boy was still a bit upset after the mishaps that occurred last night.

after heating it up, yeonjun walks over to the living room and is about to take a seat next to beomgyu before he remembers that he’s supposed to be upset at the boy and give him the silent treatment for a couple of more hours. yeonjun sits about two feet away from beomgyu which isn’t much for some people, but it’s the equivalent of a millions miles to them. the two stuck together like gum so the distance was a bit foreign and cold.

“do you like it, hyung?” beomgyu asks yeonjun who then shrugs his shoulder nonchalantly, but is actually screaming inside and wants to give beomgyu a kiss on the cheek for being so sweet and buying him his favorite food without having to ask.

“yeah, it’s alright.” is all he says before taking another bite.

“i heard how you handled the two fighting earlier in your room. i wanted to go in and help but i figured it wasn’t my business. you handled it really well,” beomgyu was trying to start conversation because he realizes how quiet yeonjun was being with him.

“umm... thanks?” is all yeonjun let’s out, but a part of him regrets his tone because it came off a little rude as yeonjun can tell by beomgyu’s taken a back expression.

beomgyu was about to open his mouth, but his ringtone beats him to it.

_“jihyun-hyung! hi.”_ he feigns enthusiasm, and that was yeonjun’s queue to return to his ramyeon and abandon the half assed conversation with beomgyu.

_“um, today?”_ he tilts his head before eyeing yeonjun.

_“i would love to, hyung. but uh... actually... today i have a date with yeonjunnie and we’re going out so i have plans. maybe when our schedules aren’t busy?”_ chewing on his bottom lips, beomgyu tries not to eye yeonjun much, but yeonjun was much more invested in their conversation that his ramyeon, which was a first.

_“okay, cool. bye hyung.”_ he says before hanging up and sighing.

“sorry, that was weird, i know. i just needed to find a way to say no because i don’t want to come off as clingy.”

“okay...”

beomgyu keeps staring at yeonjun, unaware of how he’d bring up the topic, or what he’d even say to spark the conversation, but yeonjun can clearly feel beomgyu’s eyes trailing onto him every now and then. yeonjun feels it from the corner of his eye that beomgyu is staring. beomgyu on the other hand is sweating profusely about the entire situation.

“yes?” yeonjun finally says.

“uh.. i just— i don’t know how to...” he whispers, avoiding yeonjun’s eyes. “it’s just... you know that i’m sorry right?” he asks yeonjun with hurt in his eyes, and yeonjun’s heart twists in pain seeing his best friend in such a distressed condition. the sad look in beomgyu’s eyes didn’t suit him at all. it didn’t have that usual twinkle that it always did.

“are you?”

“of course i am, hyung. i’m really sorry,” he cries, burying his face into his hands before using his palms to wipe his wet eyes. yeonjun hates seeing beomgyu cry and to say he was hurting was an understatement. there was always something in beomgyu that yeonjun wanted to protect so badly, and seeing him in any state of paid led yeonjun to feel uneasy to say the least. “i’m so sorry i said those words to you. i was just so caught up on the fact that jihyun was here, that i completely just ignored you and said mean things to you, hyung. that’s literally a problem i have that i want to fix. you just wanted to take care of me because i was sick and i was being a brat. and then your brothers and tae came and you were being such a good brother to them, despite the stress that i brought onto you. and then this morning i saw how sweet you were handling their fight like a mother and i knew you were too pure to get yelled at like that just because i was being selfish. i’m so sorry, i cried about it to taehyun last night because i was so anxious about you during the night.”

“beomgyu...” yeonjun sighs, leaving his ramyeon on the table before scooting closer to beomgyu and rests his hands on his knees. “i understand you like jihyun, but you have to understand that i’m here for you too, okay? i’m not mad, i just wished you wouldn’t push me away each time he gets closer.” beomgyu is the first to take yeonjun’s hand in his, and it’s only been a whole night away from him, but it already feels like home the second his hand touches yeonjun’s. 

“you’re not mad?” he cries, tears racing their way down his red cheeks. yeonjun’s thumbs are quick to catch them as they fall.

“bubs, of course not. i just don’t want you to push me away, okay? because it does hurt me, but i know your never intentionally hurt me. i’m just trying to look out for you, and you know that.”

“now stop crying, okay?” he whispers, pecking his wet cheek ignoring the salty taste on his lips.

“we’re okay?” beomgyu shakily asks.

“we’re always okay.” yeonjun smiles.

yeonjun cups beomgyu’s face and rids all his tears before grabbing a napkin to dab dry all his tears stains from the heavy crying he was doing earlier. beomgyu just lets him wipe away his tears while he quietly sits in front of yeonjun and plays with his fingers to occupy the awkward tension. yeonjun was also very careful into fixing the younger boy’s hair, a habit he was accustomed into doing. cupping beomgyu’s cheeks one last time, yeonjun pecks his forehead before smiling at him.

“did you want to do anything today? or did you want to stay home? we can do whatever you want.”

“i was thinking we could maybe go to the movies? only if you want of course. i just want to spend time with you right now since i missed you last night but if you don’t want to we can just-”

“be ready in twenty minutes.” yeonjun smirks as beomgyu smiles back.

* * *

yeonjun this time chose the movie, which wasn’t the worst thing for beomgyu but the guy wasn’t the biggest fan of thriller and horror movies which is exactly what yeonjun picked. it’s not that beomgyu was deathly afraid of the genre, he just didn’t like getting scared by pop ups every five minutes and would very much rather have his heart rate at a regular pace.

throughout the whole movie, beomgyu used his hands as a shield and hardly saw any of the movie due to his eyes being closed or covered. yeonjun on the other hand was deeply invested in the plot and had his mouth hung wide open just like the way taehyun would do. beomgyu had to bite his tongue from screaming in the half empty theatre that he could almost sense the familiar taste of metal on his tongue which signifies blood.

as soon as the movie ended, beomgyu was way more clingy to yeonjun than before. he looked every direction and was paranoid by every wind that past towards his direction. he was shoulder to shoulder with yeonjun, who by surprise, wasn’t holding him at all. yeonjun was always the clingy one. but since he knew beomgyu would be scared after the movie, he waited for the younger one to ask for it.

“hmmm... my hand feels a little cold or something. that’s weird.” beomgyu looks down at his hand and comes up with an excuse.

“yeah, that is weird. maybe wear gloves or something...” yeonjun smirks, because he knows exactly what beomgyu is trying to do, but there’s no wrong in trying to have fun with it first before comforting the scared boy.

“i don’t have gloves...” beomgyu pouts. “i guess my hand will just freeze to death.”

“aw, maybe put them in your pockets or something? sometimes that helps,” yeonjun suggests again, trying to contain his laugh but beomgyu is going crazy because no way in hell is he going to ask yeonjun to hold his hand.

“i know but pockets aren’t as warm and-”

“you big baby, just say you want to hold my hand and go! don’t need to come up with anymore excuses.” yeonjun teases before intertwining his fingers with beomgyu’s, whose hands were actually cold. yeonjun notices beomgyu’s anxiousness from the movie, but also coldness of his skin as well.

maybe he was only half lying.

“i knowww but then you’re just going to make fun of meeee,” beomgyu whines scooting a little more closer to yeonjun for warmth and comfort who then quickly embraces beomgyu under his arm.

“nuh uh. all you needed to say was you wanted to hold my hand. don’t need to over complicated things you baby. you’re so cute sometimes you know,” yeonjun says as soon as he pecks beomgyu’s cheek. it was something they were working on. the first day, they couldn’t even kiss each other’s cheeks without cringing.

but yeonjun just did it without remembering the fake dating shit.

he just acted on impulse.

as soon as his lips leave beomgyu’s cheek, a very familiar (and annoying) voice catches both of their attention.

“beomgyu! hey.” jihyun says walking up to the both of them and yeonjun’s is already giving him the nastiest look he could give anyone. _why does this fucker have to be everywhere?_

“oh, jihyun-ah! hi.” beomgyu’s smile grows ten times wider than it was before just by seeing this guy and somehow yeonjun feels a little uneasy.

“you guys have fun on your date?” jihyun asks, eyeing the both of them and beomgyu seems confused for a second as his eyebrows are furrowed, but easily catches up when he remembers his phone call with jihyun earlier that day.

“oh! date! right, of course. we had so much fun.” beomgyu nervously says, scooting closer to yeonjun and holds his hand more affectionately so that it seems like they are at least the teeniest bit in love. yeonjun was so taken aback, he had no idea what to do rather than to hook his arms around beomgyu’s hip before slightly rubbing small circles onto them.

it was so odd to yeonjun.the never talked about it to be a fake date.they were just doing what they do normally, though it was presented to jihyun as actions that people would do with their significant others. beomgyu and yeonjun never planned to act affectionate towards each other today at the movies. that hand holding wasn’t fake, and neither was that kiss on the cheek, but it was perfect timing for jihyun to witness it anyways.

so yeonjun just liked to think of it as luck and perfect timing.

or something like that.

beomgyu and jihyun exchange a few more words before bidding their goodbyes. as jihyun is far enough and out of sight, beomgyu’s is quick enough to turn to yeonjun and squeal. “oh my god i think he bought it.”

“yeah, i think he did too...”

but it was never meant to be a fake date in the first place.

it was just a beomgyu and yeonjun day, but somehow they were still very much convincing as a fake couple.

this fake dating shit is easy.

way too easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> agaaiiinnn, i knowww i’m sorry if this was sloppy i just whipped something up really quick since i’ve been busy and didn’t want to keep you guys waiting for too long:( i’ll try better next time so pls know not all my chapters will b this sloppy
> 
> what did you guys think???? 
> 
> and btw did u see which part was inspired by today’s x:time??? lmk if u know heheh 
> 
> i’d love to see everyone’s thoughts!! how is everyone feeling about jihyun?? what do u guys think about beomgyu and yeonjun?? and what do we feel about tyunning getting into a minor argument hahahah 
> 
> also i appreciate everyone sending this book love even after going on hiatus for a long time and thank u so much to all my loyal readers who comment every chapter !! i love uuu. and if u wanna tweet ab my book just make sure to add my username or book title in ur tweet so i can see what ur feedback is hahaha
> 
> and please feel free to participate on the qotds so we can learn more about each other bc reading your answers is my favorite art of writing!!! 
> 
> tell me your thoughts!! 
> 
> if ur still reading comment what your predictions are for cb season since it’s obviously near!! 
> 
> see you in the next chapter! <3


	8. needy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiii everyone i am back with another chapter that i am unsatsfied with :/ i dunno why my writings been soooo assss lately but i still wanted to put something out for you guys so hopefully you enjoy this chapter heheh
> 
> this was kind of a filler chapter so i am so sorry if its a bit boring but my book will be quite long and a slow burn so it is getting there hahah we are only just beginning 
> 
> and thank u to everyone who always comments and shows this book love as well as participate in my qotds! that is my favorite part of writing. i love reading everyone's comments 
> 
> that being said, here are today's set of qotds!
> 
> 1.) which txt member first caught your attention and why?
> 
> 2.) based on my writing, just wondering but who do you guys think my bias is hehe
> 
> 3.) any subunits you wanna see in the next comeback?
> 
> (so excited to see ur answers for this one!)
> 
> now enjoy a lil bit of fluff! take this as a treat the angst writer in me struggled a bit writing fluff
> 
> happy reading! see you next chapter <3

as the pair return home, beomgyu immediately slips into yeonjun’s room and begins typing away on his laptop to do his homework while yeonjun is quietly laying on his stomach in his bed scrolling through his phone. the drive back home was a bit awkward since there was obviously still some built up tension, and not to mention the awkward encounter with jihyun at the movies. from the side of his eye, yeonjun could feel beomgyu anxiously glancing back at him.

“hyung, you’re not still mad at you?” he pouts with puppy dog eyes as he comes to a halt with his typing. yeonjun tries his best not to coo at his best friend pouting, though it was beyond difficult not to.

“what gives you the impression?” he dryly says, locking his phone and walking over to his study table where beomgyu was stationed at. the bags of his eyes began turning a bright shade of purple and the poor boy looked exhausted. yeonjun wanted to pamper him, but he still needed to act a little nonchalant to mess with the boy.

“seeee. you are, hyung.” he pouts even more, jutting his bottom lip out causing yeonjun’s heart to errupt. the kid was just effortlessly cute.

“i didn’t say i was! you’re just making shit up now.” he chuckles, standing behind the chair while wrapping his arms around the silver haired boy and continues to play with his hair from behind.

“yeah huh! you’re still mad because when i’m studying, you’re always so clingy and talk a lot and always tell me to take breaks and not overwork myself! but for the past two hours all you’ve been doing was scroll through your feed and watch videos on your phone,” crossing his arms, beomgyu juts his lower lip even more and pouts at the lack of attention he’s receiving from yeonjun.

“aw, my needy baby,” he teases, ruffling the younger boy’s hair as he’s still back hugging him. “i just didn’t want to bother you! and yeah i guess i’m a little upset but i was also really quiet because i wanted you to focus. i saw how stressed you were and you were literally tugging at your hair in irritation, gyu. if you wanted me to come over why didn’t you just say so?”

“because...” he quietly says, playing with his fingers.

“because what?” yeonjun raises his eyebrows for an answer.

“because i was shhhyyyy. it was so awkward on the ride back home and i got the vibe that you were still upset so i didn’t wanna ask!” he cries, burying his head in his hands before releasing dramatic cries and yeonjun’s heart combusts at the younger one’s cuteness.

“i swear, how do you expect me to read your mind, beom? what did you expect me to do?” yeonjun turns beomgyu around on the spinny chair so that they were now both facing each other. he wants to cry more when he sees how worn out and tired the younger boy looked and the pout on his face wasn’t helping yeonjun either.

“ummm i dunno? maybe talk to me? maybe give me some water or something? fucking tell me to take a break and then cuddle me after? but noooo, you just had to be glued to your phone and watch those stupid videos!” he angrily protests with his eyebrows furrowed in displeased manner.

“oh my goodness my fake boyfriend is so fucking needy.” yeonjun chuckles while looking at his best friend who had his arms angrily crossed while wearing the most irritated look on his face. “and for your information, i was texting hyuka and hyunnie back and forth because they’re still fighting about that fucking snake.”

“whatever,” beomgyu sasses him, turning back around using his feet to spin him around. “i’m gonna go back to doing my homework. so you can go back to ignoring me and sticking your nose under that little phone or yours.” yeonjun rolls his eyes at his neediness and turns beomgyu’s back around, who then attempts to spin his chair around so that he is facing his laptop but yeonjun is just far too strong for that.

“okay fine, come here you needy ass. lemme cuddle you, you’re working too hard. go take a break,” yeonjun grabs him by the wrist and attempts to guide him to the bed but beomgyu is quick to roll his eyes and turn back around.

“no, nevermind. i wanna do homework anyways. why don’t you go continue watching those dumb videos?” he crosses his arms and pouts even harder which only makes yeonjun wanna coddle him even more.

“when’s your homework due?” yeonjun asks.

“in two days,” beomgyu answers, refusing to look at yeonjun as he keeps his attention on his screen. yeonjun shakes his head and laughs at his best friend’s determination. beomgyu was always such a good student on top of his work.

“okay good, then let’s watch your favorite show and cuddle now. you’re working too hard. i don’t like it when you’re overworking.” the older boy pouts as he sees how genuinely hard beomgyu is working. he didn’t quite look like himself. he was borderline zombie. a cute zombie though.

“hmm... nah. you could actually vanish right now. thank you.” using his hands in a shooing manner, beomgyu orders yeonjun to go away in which he finds himself crawling back onto his bed.

“hmm... fine, guess i’ll just watch my videos by myself and sleep alone. since someone wants to be alone i guess that also means he’ll have to sleep in his own room now,” yeonjun smirks as beomgyu stops his typing to turn around and look at yeonjun.

“wait! no, i’m just joking. come back,” he pouts even more. “homework’s not even due until two days anyways. cuddle me now,” he laughs, throwing himself onto the older boy who is quick to wrap his arms around the tiny boy’s waist.

“you’re needy,” yeonjun tells him before pecking his forehead.

“am not! now shut up and gimme cuddles.”

* * *

as soon as yeonjun drops off beomgyu to his only class that day, he immediately gets bored and misses the annoying boy’s company already. he finds it crazy how he can’t be without him for a long time. or else he’ll start getting needy like beomgyu too.

the drive home was a bit peaceful though. not that he hated when beomgyu talked his ear off about his day and explained when some guy in class forgot to plug in his earphones and the whole class heard his music. he loved listening to beomgyu’s random stories that happened throughout his day. but that boy could run his mouth for hours on end and sometimes having a nice little break from it was refreshing for yeonjun.

yeonjun stops by the supermarket to do groceries and doesn’t forget to get beomgyu’s favorite brand of ramyeon noodles before checking out. as he’s paying for his groceries, he feels a vibration at his back pocket and fishes his phone out.

**hyuka <3 **   
_hyungie are you home???_

**hyungie <3 **   
_at the grocery store but i’m on my way home. why did u need anything?_

**hyuka <3 **   
_can u pls help me w my homework? i’m about to cry deadass _

**hyungie <3**   
_yeahhh come over. do u need me to pick you up? and how bout soobin or taehyun. do they not want to help you? _

**hyuka<3 **  
_no i’ll take the bus, i just left school anyways. hyung’s out doing a group project so he’s at a friends house and said he’ll help me later at night but i wanna finish this nowwww and uhh taehyunnie... i don’t wanna ask him i’m still mad at him._

**hyungie <3 **   
_dudee... are u serious _

**hyuka <3 **   
_i’m very serious right now hyung so shut up and help me with my homework before i cry since i’m so stupid WHY AM I NOT GETTING THIS SHIT taehyunnie would know this so quick :/ _

**hyungie <3 **  
_hyukkaaa:(( you’re not stupid, it’s just hard!! and hurry over okay??? you have a key right??_

**hyuka <3 **   
_yes:( i’ll be there soon hyung make some food _

**hyungie <3 **   
_okay brat come hurry _

driving home in a hurry, yeonjun shakes his head at how stubborn the two were carrying this situation. and he knew huening kai was old enough to take care of himself, but the thought of him taking the bus still made him uneasy, so there were too many things infiltrating his mind.

as he arrives home, he unlocks the the door and goes straight to the kitchen to grab huening kai’s favorite snack’s before phoning the chicken place and orders for delivery. (yeonjun doesn’t forget to order beomgyu’s favorite flavor too while he’s at it) he never liked it when huening kai was stressed over school work because he knew how much of a hard worker his brother was and he knew he took his studies seriously. seeing his younger brother so flustered and stressed out about school made yeonjun a little uneasy so he wanted to do his best to destress the younger one. and to add on to his plate, he and his best friend were fighting about this stupid snake which was stressing him out even more.

after 15 minutes of sitting on the couch and eating half of the snacks he got for huening kai, he hears the doorbell ring expecting it to be huening kai though it was only the chicken delivery. grumbling at just the smell, yeonjun’s stomach twists and turns at the craving of fried chicken laying on his hands. thanking the woman, he gives her one last smile before shutting the door and yeonjun continues to wait upon huening kai’s arrival.

not much longer after, yeonjun hears key jingles through the door and as the door opens slightly, it reveals his disheveled looking young brother and he has to hold in his chuckle because huening kai looked like a mess.

“hyung, do not laugh.” he pouts because even he knows how much of a mess he looked right now. slipping off his shoes and dropping his bag on the floor, he releases a loud sigh before grabbing his homework and walking towards yeonjun on the couch.

“no no, i’m not hyuka. now come here lemme help you.” yeonjun softly says to the younger boy.

huening kai was lucky enough that yeonjun was strong in biology, so while he was trying to figure out the problem, huening kept sighing and his sighs just continued to grow louder. yeonjun tries to ignore them at first but as the seconds went on, the sighs continued to get heavier.

“okay, hyuka. so first you need to start off with-”

another sigh.

yeonjun drops the pencil and looks at his younger brother, trying his best not to roll his eyes.

“you’ve been sighing. is there a problem?” yeonjun had to hold himself to stop his eyes from rolling. this kid was the most dramatic seventeen year old teenage boy he’s ever met. who raised him?

huening kai just returns back with a sigh and pouted lips.

“ughhhh...” he says even louder.

it all snaps for yeonjun.

“i know why you’re sulking,” yeonjun smirks, pointing his pencil in huening kai’s direction. “you miss taehyunnie huh?” he questions, his smirk growing even larger.

huening kai shrinks in his seat and his cheeks grow red at yeonjun’s sudden words. he doesn’t know if it’s because he’s angry or because he’s embarrassed that it’s true.

“n-not truee...” he groans, shoving yeonjun to the side of the couch causing his to fall.

“okay. ima just text hyunnie then that i’ll be your tutor from now on then since you don’t need him,” yeonjun teases, fishing his phone out of his pocket.

huening kai jumps on him to stop yeonjun from pulling out his phone “no no, don’t! okay fine yes i do miss him and i love you, hyung but taehyun-ah teaches way better than you and i misss himmmm. but if you tell him that i will kill you,” the younger boy threatens with his little fists in the least threatening way.

“okay fine,” yeonjun surrenders holding his hands up.

as the two get back to huening kai’s bio homework, his tension eases when yeonjun starts explaining while the younger finally starts understanding. he was no longer trying to rip his hair out before but he was still anxiously checking his phone every now and then to see if taehyun has texted him.

nothing.

when huening kai starts getting the hang of it and could work on a problem no longer needing yeonjun’s help, yeonjun orders him to work on all the problems and promises to check over it after so he uses this free time to look at any missed notifications on his phone.

he sees a text message from beomgyu sent three minutes ago.

**love💞**   
_yeonjunnie-hyung you don’t need to pick me up i’m already on my way home!! jihyunnie is driving me homeeee :) _

**baby💕**   
_you didn’t want me to pick you up? :( _

**love 💞 **   
_no noooo i did!! it’s just he just finished his class too and he offered to bring me homee_

**baby💕 **   
_oh... okay... :( _

**love💞 **   
_nooo don’t sulk you big babbyyy _

**baby💕**  
_fine. i ordered some chicken too. ur favorite so hurry home._

**love💞**   
_wait don’t go yet!!! when he drops me off i’m going to pretend to leave my phone in his car so text me something really cute so that he reads it before giving it to me. _

**baby💕 **   
_you extra ass. fine. also what’s my name saved under your phone?? you’re “love💞” for me skjsksks yucky i hate typing that out_

**love💞 **   
_you’re “baby💕” for meeee lol this is ewww_

**love💞**   
_mannnn we’re gross. and i’ll be there literally maybe three minutes so text now!!! i’m gonna leave my phone in the cup holder so he can read it. _

**baby💕 **   
_babbyyy where are you?? :(( hurry home i miss you and need cuddles <3 _

yeonjun cringes at himself while giggling at the grossly written text. he begins laughing louder but the sound of huening kai’s sigh and his pencil dropping against the table snaps him out of his thoughts.

“you’ve been giggling for the last five minutes so if you can text beomgyu-hyung quietly that’d be amazing, thanks.” he says all while sassing his older brother.

“hey, cut the attitude.”

as huening kai sticks his tongue out at his older brother, yeonjun’s phone vibrates three times consecutively and his younger brother rolls his eyes knowing exactly who it is.

**love 💞**   
_HYUNGNF IT WORKEDJDJD _

**love💞**   
_HIS MOOD CHANGED HE LOOKED UPSET HEHE _

**love💞 **   
_also i’m coming uppp:)))_

yeonjun quietly waits for beomgyu to come up and he locks his phone before he begins laughing again while reading their messages.

when he finally hears the door click open, his eyes grow seeing beomgyu after hours of being separated from him. he walks towards him, but another person comes out from behind him.

taehyun.

oh shit.

“how was school....” yeonjun says awkwardly, placing a kiss on beomgyu’s forehead before saying hi to taehyun.

“it was good. boring.” beomgyu replies, kicking his shoes off.

“hi taehyunnie!” yeonjun cuddles the small boy before planting a kiss on the top of his head too.

he could already feel huening kai’s eyes burning at the back of his head.

“oh yeah, i brought him with me because he wanted help with his homework.” the silver haired boy walks to the kitchen where taehyun follows.

“god that car ride with that jihyun dude was so ruthless. he’s such a douche i can’t-” taehyun whispers quietly to yeonjun, loud enough for him to hear but soft enough for beomgyu to not suspect a thing.

“um.... what are you doing here?” taehyun points at huening kai on the couch who was quietly doing his biology homework.

“uhh?? my brother lives here. what are _you_ doing here?” the youngest retaliates, not being afraid to roll his eyes in annoyance.

“my best friend lives here. so mind your own business.” he snaps back, and huening kai shrinks in his seat, causing beomgyu to coo at taehyun’s harshness.

“aww, hyunnie don’t be so mean to hyuka. why don’t you guys just make up i don’t like seeing you guys fight.” beomgyu pouts while looking for something to eat in the kitchen. “ahhh, hyungie thank you for getting me chicken.” he exclaims, being as clingy as ever and running into yeonjun’s arms.

“never. he brought that snake into our house,” huening kai fights back causing taehyun to glare at him.

“you’re welcome, angel. you better share though. give some to taehyun.” yeonjun tells beomgyu who’s already munching on the fried chicken that yeonjun ordered him.

“look how gross they are, oh my god.” huening kai groans, burying his head into his hands.

“i know, god. you should have heard him in the car giggling.” taehyun adds, before stopping himself when he realizes his mistake. “wait ew, i’m still supposed to be mad at you. i take that back.”

“very mature.” the youngest sarcastically says.

“oh would you look at that? yeonjunnie and i have a scheduled movie to watch together in our room! uh-oh looks like you guys have to help each other with homework, sorry guys. really wish we could help.” beomgyu giggles, while still being wrapped in yeonjun’s arms.

clingy ass.

“no! don’t leave us-” taehyun tries time call for the two who are already walking towards yeonjun’s room with their fried chicken and blankets.

“have fun you two! make up and no fighting, okay?” yeonjun yells before shutting the door to his room while holding beomgyu.

“fuck.” he hears the both of them mutter in unision just as the door shuts.

this was going to be fun.

checking his phone one last time, yeonjun sees soobin texted in their groupchat. 

**soobinie <3 **   
_hey i saw everyones location on snap maps and no one told me there was a gathering today at hyung’s house:((( i’m coming over _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alrightt what did we think??? i am so sorry that i was a day late this week i was having trouble writing and again idkkk whyyy
> 
> noww couple of questions heheh what do we think about hyuka and taehyunnie fighting ahahah and how are we feeling about beomgyu and jihyun??? please let me know your favorite scenes in this chapter!!
> 
> againnn im sorry if this was a bit sloppy like the last chapter but i am falling back into my writing pattern after not writing for a whileee
> 
> and also big thank you to @young_one_us and @jayfet for leaving such sweet comments that warmed my heart!! thank u sooo much for being so supportive ur comments always make me so happy!
> 
> and dont forget to participate in the qotds so that we learn more about each other!!
> 
> let me know ur thoughts about this chapter and tell me what u thought as well as ur fav scenes!
> 
> see you next chapter! <3


	9. it’ll be alright, alright?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello lovliesss, i know im a little late today but i still made it to my scheduled saturday!!
> 
> thank u to everyone who's been loving the book so far hehe i love reading your comments. again i respond to everyone and try to keep my book interactive as possible. now this chapter, i wont give awayy toooo muchhh but feel free to yell in the comments later haha i will gladly take them
> 
> also to the qotd last chapter, for the bias question, im actually still stuck between soobin or taehyun which in know is a bit a surprise since i run a beomjun book hahaha so for anyone wondering if they guessed right, there you go 
> 
> here are todays set of qotds!
> 
> 1.) what is your favorite b-sides track?
> 
> 2.) what is the best track off of dream chapter:star and dream chapter: magic?
> 
> 3.) what is your current favorite to do!txt ep (excited for these answers hehe)
> 
> thank you for reading and see you next chapter!! <3

yeonjun wakes up to beomgyu slightly drooling on his chest, so he has to wriggle out a little bit of the position that they were in. the silver haired boy looked far too peaceful for yeonjun to wake up so he carefully places his head onto the pillow before discarding himself from the bed. he and beomgyu fell asleep after watching the movie last night, and that’s when he gets reminded that he left the two youngest outside in the living room before he went to bed. he wonders if they sorted their shit out.

that was until he checked his phone for a text from taehyun.

**taehyunnie <3 **   
_hyungieee your brother made me cry last night and i didn’t want to go home to our apartment so i crashed on your couch. sorry if i didn’t ask for permission but i just didnt wanna wake you. beomie-hyung gave me some pillows n blankets but i just don’t want u to be shocked when you see me in the morning. i’ll be out of your hair in the afternoon. _

reading the text, he rushes out in the living room to find taehyun already awake scrolling through his phone. his eyes were puffier and more swollen than usual and his cheeks were burning red. he looks like he hardly got any sleep which made yeonjun wonder why he was so down.

“hyung! oh my god i’m sorry. i hope you saw my text, but i’ll be out in a few. i’m just waiting for the text from soobin-hyung to pick me up-”

“hyunnie, it’s okay. seriously. you don’t even have to ask oh my god. you can crash here whenever you want, it’s not a problem so stop worrying. but did everything go alright last night?” yeonjun consolingly says, the way a mother would comfort a child. just at yeonjun asking taehyun if he was okay, the smaller boy begins bawling in tears before reaching for yeonjun’s arms.

“i... i don’t know...” he sniffles, wrapping his fingers around yeonjun’s wrist. “hyuka and i kept going back and forth and he said some personal stuff and i got really upset about it and started crying. he left not long after that saying he was exhausted from fighting. and then beomgyu-hyung came out here when you were asleep and began comforting me.” yeonjun loved his younger brother, he really did, but he loved taehyun as his own as well. he grew up with huening kai and did everything with him so seeing him upset genuinely made him feel uneasy.

“fuck, taehyun i’m so sorry. you don’t have to talk about it right now if you don’t want to but i’ll make sure to take to my younger brother about it too. i don’t want him hurting you either. this obviously isn’t about the snake anymore and it’s something bigger but let hyung know if you need my help, okay? and you can stay here for the next couple of days if you want.”

taehyun was shaking far too much and the sound of his cries left yeonjun’s mouth agape with incredulity. the kid was never a crier and tended to keep his feelings to himself so seeing the boy open up this way in front of him way heartbreaking.

“oh, my baby taehyunnn...” beomgyu runs towards the crying boy and shoves yeonjun to the side, causing him to stumble. he’s still half asleep with his eyes roughly closed but he still takes the time to comfort taehyun. yeonjun knew that he was beomgyu’s best friend, but taehyun was definitely beomgyu’s partner in crime with a lot of things. he knew beomgyu cared for him like a brother, so these instincts were no surprise to yeonjun.

“ow, fucker. can you say excuse me at least,” yeonjun glares, rubbing his bum before shoving beomgyu lightly to tease.

“shut up right now, this doesn’t concern you. my baby is crying, so get lost.” the younger boy sticks his tongue out at yeonjun before rubbing taehyun’s back to console him. he seemed to fall more comfortably into beomgyu’s arms before simmering down his cries a bit.

yeonjun heard the keys jingling and not long after walked through a very disheveled and panicked soobin.

oh no.

“hyung, i’m losing it. i can’t do this.” he tugs at the ends of his hair before heading straight to the kitchen. taehyun and beomgyu hardly even notice him walking through the door and pulling yeonjun to the kitchen.

“hey... calm down soobin. it’s okay.” yeonjun soothes him as the taller boy takes a seat on the island while his older brother hands him a glass of water.

“hyunggg. our little brothers are fighting.” he says all while pouting. seeing his younger brother pout hurt his heart just a teeny bit. soobin was just too pure at heart, he never wanted him to have a hard time. “this makes me sad.” he just his bottom lip out even more.

“god, i know. don’t be upset. it’ll be alright, okay? we just need the two to give each other some time. they fall out a lot but they love each other too much to stay mad.”

“hyung, no but hyuka looked so upset last night and cried himself to sleep saying he messed up. this isn’t about that fucking snake anymore, and to be honest i don’t think it ever was. i’m.... i’m so worried,” yeonjun takes a seat next to his younger brother and calms him down before proceeding.

“don’t worry too much, binnie. we know that the person other than beomgyu that taehyun is comfortable with, that isn’t hyuka, is you. how about you speak to him and calm him down? i hate this as much as you do.” releasing a sigh, soobin’s anxiousness comes to a halt after hearing yeonjun’s comforting words.

“okay..... but hyung, oh my god. who the fuck is gonna feed that fucking snake at home? i had to do it today and feed aengdu rat pups or pinkies, whatever the fuck they’re called and honest to god i almost threw up. i don’t wanna do it anymoreeee and the only reason why i did is because taehyunnie asked so nicely. but i will not do that ever again, so who the fuck will do it. because i know taehyun won’t go to our apartment any time soon.” the younger boy had his eyebrows knitted together in fear, and yeonjun notices what a sacrifice soobin made to feed aengdu because he was aware soobin wasn’t too fond of the animal.

“fine.... i’ll stop by whenever i need to to feed the rascal. what is it, twice a week or something? i bet you by next week they’ll make up,” suggests yeonjun, but soobin isn’t too convinced by his casual prediction.

“no but hyung, i think this is seriousss...” he whines, stomping his left foot on the ground while wriggling his body loosely. “i feel like it’ll take longer.”

soobin and yeonjun were too immersed in their conversation that they don’t even notice beomgyu quietly standing behind them, patiently waiting to be noticed.

“hi soobin-hyung i barely even noticed you walk through the door. but uh... taehyun wants you,” he quietly says before rocking back and forth on his heels and toes.

soobin nods his head before ruffling beomgyu’s hair—who was still half asleep— before making his way to the living room to tend to taehyun. yeonjun begins pulling out a carton of eggs to start breakfast for the four, and he looks across him to see beomgyu standing still as his eyelids are fighting against him not to fall.

walking to the stove, he starts the heat and begins beating the eggs with chopsticks before giving beomgyu the attention he’s silently asking for.

“morning, sleepyhead. how was your sleep?” he smirks as he watches beomgyu try to fight the heaviness of his eyelids.

“mmmm, still sleepy...” he scratches his head before walking to yeonjun near the stove and backhugs him. beomgyu wraps his arms around yeonjun’s waist and rests his chin on top of his shoulder as he watches yeonjun cook the eggs. “hyung, the two babies fighting makes me so sad,” he mumbles before closing his eyes from the lack of sleep he got that night.

“i know... but that’s part of friendships, gyu. we fight a lot too. but i get what you’re saying, this seems a little serious. a lot of shit was probably brought up in their argument last night and our stupid asses were dead asleep all while it was happening,” yeonjun chuckles, flipping over the egg while his waist is still restrained by beomgyu’s arms.

“i know. if we were awake, we could have done something about it...” beomgyu pouts, turning his head to yeonjun instead of resting his chin on his shoulder.

“hey, don’t blame yourself. you couldn’t have-”

releasing his arms from yeonjun’s waist, beomgyu let’s go so that he is in next to yeonjun now. “i know but i was supposed to help taehyun, and you were supposed to help hyuka with his homework! and we decided to be careless and selfish and lock them together while we watch a stupid movie together. i feel like this is our fault.”

“look at you and your overthinking. i get that we shouldn’t have left them alone knowing their situation, but they probably would have said the same thing to each other even if we were in the room, okay? this isn’t your fault. do not overthink this, gyu. it’ll be alright, alright?” he runs his fingers through beomgyu’s hair, all while trying to multi task with his breakfast.

“fine...” he sulks, scooting closer to yeonjun while elongating his neck to watch him cook eggs.

“and you’ve been extra clingy this morning. either you want my attention, or you’re about to ask me for a favor,” smirks the older, side-eyeing beomgyu who looks guilty of the accusation.

beomgyu begins coyly bouncing the top of his pointer fingers against each other in a diffident manner. “hmm... maybe both...”

“well your clingy ass already got my attention. so what’s the favor?” turning off the stove, yeonjun puts all his cooked eggs on the plate before washing his hands in the sink where beomgyu follows.

“i’m sad...” he pouts, jutting his bottom lip out while fluttering his eyes. “i’m really sad,” he exaggerates while adding an overdone sigh.

“aw. why are you sad, my love?” yeonjun’s voice drops to a genuine tone when he realizes his best friend is actually sad.

“because...” beomgyu pouts even more.

“because why, bubba?” stopping the sink, yeonjun turns to beomgyu to give him his full attention. he looks at him in the eyes with so much adoration and doesn’t hesitate to do whatever beomgyu asks to make him happy.

“because jihyun-ah is asking us to go on a double date with someone he met and now i’m sad because he’s on a date with someone, so i wanted to go to try and make him jealous even more. c-could you go?” he stutters, being sure to add the pouty eyes that yeonjun always falls for.

okay, so maybe he does hesitate a little.

“i don’t know, beom...” he sucks in his teeth while scratching the back of his neck.

beomgyu scoots closer and pouts even harder. yeonjun locks his eyes with the ceiling to stop himself from caving in, but he can see it even when he’s not looking directly at the younger boy. “please? i’m really sad today...”

“fine. you are so lucky i care about you. now go and get ready and give me the address.”

* * *

yeonjun was not having it.

beomgyu was giving heart eyes to jihyun, and jihyun’s date was an absolute prick.

she has her gum on her finger and stretched it to a string long enough as her hair strands out of boredom. she was uninterested in the conversations that yeonjun attempted to have and was making unnecessary comments every now and then.

“wait, so you guys are... boyfriends?” she asks while smacking on her gum, questioning in the most high-pitched tone. beomgyu shifts in his seat, obviously uncomfortable with the question.

“yes. we are boyfriends. two boys. who are dating. which is completely normal.” yeonjun answers through gritted teeth and he feels the sudden urge to pull beomgyu closer to him. he begins to run his hand up and down beomgyu’s thigh under the table to ease his anxiousness at this woman who was trying to intimidate him.

“hmm... kinda weird,” she says rolling her eyes and beomgyu’s breath hitches at her sudden words.

“how the fuck is that weird?” yeonjun retaliates, finding it more difficult to hold back his temper each second a word leaves this woman’s mouth.

“i don’t know... like how do you guys kiss?” she stupidly asks, causing yeonjun to squint at her in confusion to confirm if she was serious or just fucking around.

“are you kidding me? we kiss like normal fucking people do.” he raises his voice a bit higher causing beomgyu and jihyun to tense up at his mini outburst. yeonjun feels beomgyu’s hand trail on top of his under the table, and he begins drawing little circles on the back of yeonjun’s hand to calm him down.

“oh.... well the foods taking long so i will make a quick stop to the toilet. talk amongst yourselves...” she quirkly says before jumping out of her seat and skipping to the restroom. yeonjun leans back and releases a loud sigh the second she is out of sight because he is unsure of how much longer he could have resisted all the pent up frustration she was bringing onto him.

“you’ve been quite quiet, jihyun.” he aims at the anxious boy across from him. “she was talking all this shit and not once did you jump in to stop your date from talking any further. i don’t know, don’t you think she kinda crossed a line with that question?” he intterogates in quite a patronizing tone and he could sense beomgyu tensing up by his side.

“junni, stop. it’s okay.” he whispers, wrapping his fingers around yeonjun’s wrist.

“sorry man, okay? i met her in one of my classes yesterday. i didn’t really know she’d be like this.” jihyun nervously rubs his palms together and yeonjun could swear he sees beads of sweat forming on top of his forehead.

“well maybe get to know a person first before taking them out on a double date.” he smart assily fires back, feeling beomgyu pinch him under the table. usually he’d flinch but he was too angry to feel the slight pain of it.

“can you guys just stop fighting, please?” beomgyu pleads, giving yeonjun sad eyes.

“i’m sorry, baby. she was just being disrespectful is all. i didn’t mean to upset you.” he consolingly says before kissing his cheek, attempting to look as in love as he is with beomgyu. the same way an actual boyfriend would react. jihyun was eyeing them for a bit, and yeonjun read a bit of jealousy in his eyes.

“i’m back boys! what i miss?” she squeals, cupping her cheeks as she rests her chin in the valley of both of her palms.

“oh... nothing much.” beomgyu uncomfortably answers to best yeonjun from saying any out of pocket answers.

“oh thank god the food is here!” she claps excitedly in a quirky manner before thanking the waiters. she whips her phone out and takes multiple pictures, one even with jihyun, before placing it back into her purse and eats away.

“so... beomgyu. i heard you like dancing? are you any good?” she questions him while spitting her gum out and wrapping it in a napkin before discarding it to the floor.

yeonjun wants to be anywhere but near her.

“oh... um yeah. i do dance. i think i’m pretty average though. i don’t know i-”

“he’s fucking amazing. he moves so passionately and can dance any genre. he even blindfolds himself to keep his focus, so he’s more than average.” yeonjun adds in while throwing millions of compliments about his fake boyfriend.

“yeah, he’s so good...” jihyun cleats his throat adding in.

yeonjun rolls his eyes because he hasn’t even seen beomgyu’s dance. 

“oh... thanks guys.”

beomgyu didn’t really handle compliments too well.

“ahh... i see. and yeonjun, i heard you like producing and making music?” she attempts to sound interested but her ripping up her napkin out of boredom really contradicted with the conversation she was trying to start.

“yeah i like making music. it’s kind of complex though but-”

“music is kind of hard to take up though, don’t you think? like it’s extremely hard to-”

“oh, but yeonjun-hyung is amazing actually. you should hear some of his stuff. he writes and produces his own songs and sometimes he plays at parties when he’s not busy.” beomgyu was quick to defend yeonjun, and yeonjun notices jihyun tensing up every time beomgyu mentions and becomes affectionate with the blue haired boy.

“hmm... you guys are cute. i like that.” she smiles, scrunching her nose but all yeonjun can notice is jihyun trying his best not to death stare him.

the rest of the date goes through awkward conversations and yeonjun trying not to reach over the table and shut this woman up. he was still was unaware of her name, but he didn’t care much of her anyways. beomgyu and jihyun were conversing way more with each other as if they were in a date, leaving yeonjun stuck with this talkative woman in front of him.

yeonjun would occasionally try to converse with beomgyu who would return one word answers and turn back to jihyun to continue on their conversation. they were so immersed in whatever they were talking about that they hardly even noticed yeonjun and the woman had long gone already finished their food already.

beomgyu hardly even paid attention to yeonjun.

“okay, what’s wrong?” yeonjun asks at a stoplight, keeping one hand in the wheel while the other attempts to grab beomgyu’s hand.

beomgyu is quick to pull away.

“what’s wrong? you’re asking me what’s wrong? you were being fucking rude there again. hyung, i don’t even know if i could be there any longer. and when jihyunnie’s date left and you interrogated him with those questions? c’mon hyung, really?” the younger boy turned his head to look out the window, unable to look at his best friend.

“i was defending us! she was being so passive aggressive and so fucking judgemental! i could tell you were getting uncomfortable and i wasn’t going to let her judge us like that.” the light turns green, giving yeonjun a disadvantage of looking at beomgyu with sincerity.

“you could have just let it fucking go like a mature person. but no you had to act like a child and join in on the antics.” yeonjun could already hear beomgyu’s voice breaking. “and you were acting so uninterested! you were on your phone texting almost the whole time and barely said shit. so don’t say shit when you barely did anything for me today.” the younger boy turns to look out the window and attempts to discreetly swipe his tumb under his eyes to rid his tears but yeonjun can already peep the side mirror to see he is crying.

“are you being serious with me right now? childish? i was on my phone texting soobin because our two babies of the group are fighting and i wanted to check up on them! i’m looking out for my two little brothers while i’m on this fucking date with you all cause you you want someone who can never see the good in you while you’re wasting you’re fucking time on him. you deserve better but here you are chasing some asshole.” squeezing his grip around the steering wheel, yeonjun’s knuckles begin to grow white out of anger.

“you’re an asshole. i wish i had asked someone else.” he cries, using the back of his hands to wipe his tears.

“me? yes i’m an asshole because i agreed to fake date you just to help you get the guy you want. yes i’m an asshole, because i know doing this would make you fucking happy, even if it’s an inconvenience to me sometimes. im a fucking asshole for caring about you too much because i don’t like seeing you upset.” yeonjun doesn’t even realize he’s crying until the road ahead of him begins growing blurry, and only then does he realize tears are streaming down his cheeks.

“i hurt myself to make you happy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> now before i get into it i just wanted to say thank you to one of my readers @Mashnik98 for always being so supportive and sweet with their comments!! thank you <3 
> 
> nowww liistennnn, i am sorry alright!! we had a little bit of tiny baby angst in this chapter bc like i said i am an angst writer!! this book has been superr fluffy though so i needed to add something in the mix hahahah if you have read my other book (which i will probably discontinue) there is a wholeee bunch of angst in that one but i took it slow on this oneee
> 
> and let me hear your thoughts??? what do we think of the tyunning fight escalating??? do we think jihyun and his date will last?? beomjun are fighting again :/ poor soobinie is in the middle of alll of this. sad faceeee
> 
> let me know what you think, and something that some of you guys have been doing that i enjoy reading is that yall predict what happens in my next chapters and i loveee reading those!!
> 
> also feel free to participate in qotds so that we can get to learn more about each other!!
> 
> if youre still reading comment "bighit stop hiding our boys hair colors" hehe
> 
> see you next chapte my lovlies!! <3


	10. just, beomgyu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helllooo everyone!! i am back with another chapter finally on schedule for like the first time ever hehehe 
> 
> just a reminder i used to get some comments on my previous book about the angst in it and i just wanted to remind u that this IS an angst book and won’t always be fluffy so again as an angst writer if angst isn’t ur thing this probably isn’t the book for u !! there are way better beomjun aus than this one anyways 
> 
> i love reading everyone’s comments and responses to my chapters and as i said i make this a very interactive book and respond to everyone!! 
> 
> and i’ve ran into a bit of a problem. my previous book that i wrote before this was a jikook book and i’ve lost motivation writing it, but i was thinking of just finishing it since many people have been asking me to but that would mean for me to put a pause on this book. i know if i finish the other book, the ending will be half assed and that isn’t something i put out. readers pls help and comment ur thoughts! 
> 
> anyways i’ll stop blabbing now so enjoy this chapter 
> 
> here are your set of qotds!  
(as i said i like to know more about my readers so today will be non-txt related, but readers edition!) 
> 
> 1.) what country are you from
> 
> 2.) how old are you? (if ur not comfortable with saying, just guess how old u think i am!) 
> 
> 3.) what other artists do you listen to? (kpop/non kpop)
> 
> happy reading!! <3

soobin was a hard worker.

once he works on something, he refuses to stop unless it is completely done. and as of now, his group of friends were currently fighting each other. yeonjun wasn’t speaking to beomgyu, and taehyun refused to face huening kai.

which left soobin stuck in the middle.

he hated seeing his friends fight. it made him uneasy when one pair would refuse to speak to each other, let alone two. so when he hears word that everyone in their friend group except him is in some kind of fight, his mom instincts take over him as quick as the speed of light. 

which explains why yeonjun and taehyun are together on one couch, while huening kai and beomgyu are together on the opposite. they’re all sitting with their arms crossed in a pout, glaring at soobin who was in the center of their living room giving them a disappointed look like a mother would.

“dude, did he send you the text too?” taehyun whispers to yeonjun, who then nods his head.

“yeah, which is why i rushed here after my class. knowing him, it seemed believable.” yeonjun irritatedly replies back, not too impressed with soobin’s antics. soobin tries to fight back a smirk knowing his plan worked.

“what did he text you guys?” huening kai asks his older brother who then pulls out his phone to read the message.

“he told us to come to the apartment quick because he needed help getting out from under the bed since he was stuck.” to yeonjun and taehyun, getting this message from someone else would have been bizarre and unusual. but knowing soobin, this wasn’t weird behavior at all. it seemed completely normal, which is why taehyun and yeonjun rushed as quick as they can.

“oh? he didn’t text me that?” beomgyu furrows his eyebrows in confusion making soobin turn his head towards the other two’s direction.

“me neither...” huening kai quietly adds.

“ah... that’s cause i knew that wouldn’t lure you in as much. so my smart ass used your weaknesses instead. which obviously... worked.” the way soobin was walking around the living room like a college professor was mocking all the four boys too much. he was getting way too much fun out of this.

“which by the way, was really mean. i rushed here so quick,” crossing his arms, beomgyu jutted his bottom lip out into a big pout and glared at soobin as if it were his last day on the planet.

“what did the text say, hyung?” taehyun asks.

“he said that he bought a puppy and that he was bringing it to our apartment. he told me to rush here if we wanna see it, so we obviously did....” judging by his tone, yeonjun could tell that beomgyu was still upset about the fake puppy because he’s been pouting the whole time.

“well, anymore comments about slandering me? because if so, go ahead. and if not, i’ll just get straight to the point here.” soobin looked at each one of them in the eyes to see if they had anything more to say upon his plan.

he received silence and a couple of death glares.

“good. now, why are we all fighting, huh? i’m just gonna get straight to it here. it is not fun coming home to a sad roommate, or having to talk on the phone to a crying brother. i don’t know what’s going on here but i’m not letting anyone leave until we all make up, and i mean it.”

soobin was always the laid back, bubbly one of the group. so it was unusual for the boys to see him in such a demanding manner. it wasn’t fun seeing him so out of his element, and it took a lot for that ball of sunshine to get upset. and soobin was upset.

all of the boys stayed silent for three seconds before they all started talking at once. beomgyu was yelling at yeonjun, and huening kai was raising his voice at taehyun. if it weren’t for the coffee table separating the two pairs, soobin was positive that they’d be ripping each other’s hairs out already.

“hey! one at a fucking time!” he raises his voice, bringing the arguing to a halt as the four other boys stare at him in disbelief.

“sorry...” yeonjun apologizes first, which causes the other three to echo after.

“now, why don’t we start with the two babies of the group since you guys started fighting first. beomgyu and yeonjun-hyung, i’ll get to you two later. stay quiet.” he points accusatory fingers at the two who seem as if they’re yelling at each other using their eyes.

“well taehyun brought a snake into the house without my permission. there,” huening kai blatantly accuses, trying his hardest to not make any eye contact with the boy. taehyun flinches at huening kai’s words and yeonjun can feel the tension, so he rubs comforting circles on taehyun’s back to ease his anger.

“now i’m not picking sides here, hyuka. you know i hate snakes just as much as you, but taehyunnie apologized and promised to warn us next time. he only didn’t tell us because he knew your reaction would be this way. and i do get that he was wrong for not telling us.” yeonjun tried his best to hold in his smirk because soobin fits the role of a therapist so well. he should consider after this.

“okay but that’s not even why we fought?” he sasses the younger. “i mean it was, but it wasn’t the reason our argument got bigger, and was definitely not the reason why you made me cry so...”

“hyuka, why don’t you explain first the reason you were upset attaehyun-ah for bringing in the snake. so we could understand better...” yeonjun softly chimes in, knowing his younger brother was most comfortable with him when it came to opening up.

“are you kidding me? obviously i was upset at the fact that he brought it home without our permission but i’m over it. it wasn’t about the fucking snake and it never was. i was so upset that he didn’t tell me, but he told his other friends _weeks ago _about it first. i was upset that he never tells me anything anymore. i was upset because we’re best friends and have to tell each other everything and you couldn’t even bother to tell me about a stupid snake that you were bringing into our home. it wasn’t about the snake. it was never about the snake.” the break in huening kai’s voice was enough to trigger him and bring him into tears. beomgyu—like the big brother he was— was quick enough to wrap his arms around the youngest boy before he bawls into tears. yeonjun had to swallow a couple of lumps in his throat to refrain himself from doing the same. a part of him is upset with taehyun, but the other half knows he would never intentionally hurt his little brother.

“taehyun? you told your friend about the snake weeks ago before telling hyuka? but you tell him everything...” soobin questions, obviously at loss as well.

“i told them all, actually. i don’t know, it just never came up with hyuka and i knew he’d react the way he did since i know he hates snakes so i just didn’t want to let him know.” taehyun’s mouth felt dry at the sight of seeing his best friend cry. it wasn’t what he was trying to do.

“hyunnie, hyuka is upset because i guess he’s feeling disconnected with you. you’re never telling him anything anymore and he feels a bit left out, i guess. a simple word about bringing your snake home would’ve sufficed. and i guess he felt pushed to the side when he found out you’ve been telling your other friends before him. i’d be upset too, i hope you understand his side.” yeonjun smiles at the way beomgyu is trying to be understanding of both situations. he was always so gentle with huening kai, and even if taehyun was his best friend as well, he tried his best to let him know when he did something wrong instead of letting it slide.

“okay, okay. now what happened during your argument? what happened when yeonjun-hyung and beomgyu were watching their movie? that was the same night, right?” yeonjun winces at the memory of being all cuddled up in bed with beomgyu, when 48 hours ago they were just happy with each other instead of trying to avoid one another.

“the hyung’s tried to keep us in the same room together thinking we could fix our shit, but all that did was make it worse. when i was trying to do my homework, huening asked why i never told him things anymore and that if he did anything wrong he was sorry for it. i told him i was just busy and all, and that i don’t have to tell him every single thing going on in my life,” taehyun takes a moment to pause as he recollects his memory from that night. it was so difficult trying to remember what happened when his best friend was just six feet away from him, crying in the arms of one’s that weren’t his. “then he continued to say that i don’t come to him for things anymore and why i told my friends before him. i told him that it wasn’t my fault if he was jealous which just heated up the conversation. and then words were said back and forth, which ended in him saying that i was a shit best friend and he wishes he had a better one who would understand him.” huening kai was not the only one spewing tears now. he hadn’t even noticed he was also crying until yeonjun swiped his thumb under his eyes. yeonjun was now comforting taehyun as well, the same way beomgyu was comforting huening kai.

“taehyunnie...” huening kai whimpers attempting to get through a sentence, though his hiccups and sobs were preventing him from going any further.

“taehyun-ah... you know when people are upset they tend to blurt out things they don’t really mean. i’m sure huening kai was just heated in the moment and didn’t mean what he said,” beomgyu attempted to vouch for huening kai which yeonjun really appreciated, but he was still upset at his younger brother for saying such lewd words impulsively.

“yeah? well it was still said nonetheless so-”

“i didn’t mean it, okay? i just felt so fucking left out of your life recently and of course i would never ask for a different best friend other than you, are you crazy? but i know i still said it, which is why i want to say sorry a million times more. but i still stand by what i said. you’ve been talking to your friends way more than me, and if i have to hear something, it’s not even directly from you! i have to hear it from someone in my class. i didn’t even know you were first in our class this semester, taehyun! you didn’t even fucking tell me, and i had to find out from somebody else in the cafeteria, and you always tell me these things.”

“i’m sorry, okay? i just feel like i don’t have to tell you every single thing going on in my life, kai. and regardless if you meant it or not, that shit really fucking hurt. what you said to me was not something i took lightly.” taehyun was more stern than upset. and it was frightening for everyone to see. huening kai’s cries came to a halt just to observe how serious the boy really was.

“taehyun, i know. i didn’t mean to-”

the olde boy tugs at his hair in frustration before jumping out of his seat. “i’m sorry, i’m sorry if this makes me look rude but i can’t really stand to be in here right now. i need some air or something. soobin-hyung, can i please have my phone back?” taehyun asks politely though, still through gritted teeth.

at the beginning of the “meeting” soobin had collected all their phones beforehand unless it would be a distraction.

“i’m sorry, taehyun. but yeah, sure. it’s on the table behind beomgyu. beomie can you pass it to him, please?” soobin raises his eyebrows at the silver haired boy.

beomgyu reaches behind him, glancing at the lock screen of taehyun and huening kai, before catching a little notification on the latter’s phone.

he furrows his eyebrows not meaning to intrude on taehyun’s business, but now that it was in front of him he couldn’t stop looking.

“eunji? you’re talking to her again? since when?” beomgyu says with hurt in his voice, not even knowing why the hurt was present. he was hurting for huening kai.

“hyung, just give me my-”

“no. i just wanna know. i don’t care if you are, i just wanted to know if you were,” he shoots back in the calmest tone ever, easing the thick tension present in the room.

“eunji? your childhood friend from daegu when you would visit your grandparents? you’re talking to her again? weren’t you gushing over her for years?” huening kai feigns a smile, pretends to be happy for him as he hears the news.

it all made sense.

“is this why you’ve been so distant? to spend time with her? you should’ve just told me, i wouldn’t have intruded. but you just always have to keep things from me,” it was obvious to yeonjun now that huening kai was hurt. anyone would’ve been hurt in that situation. seeing your best friend rekindle something with his old best friend was not typically the best thing you’d want to hear.

“god, i don’t keep things from you! what don’t you understand? i just-”

“you should go to her. i don’t want you to be late.” he whispers, before heading on the couch where yeonjun was to ask him for his comfort. it’s not that beomgyu’s comfort wasn’t good enough, but yeonjun just knew all the right ways to calm him down.

“i’m.... i’m gonna go now... i-i’m sorry this was just a bit too much-“ taehyun dismisses himself before shutting the door behind him and leaving.

they were always empty when one was missing. it was never the same. and that’s what it felt like right this moment. taehyun’s spot was looking as dull as ever.

“not so good of an idea now, was it hyung?” huening kai jokingly says through tears. yeonjun’s heart grew warm at the fact that his younger brother was still able to find humor in a situation like this.

he’ll never understand the purity the younger one holds.

“you two. make up so that our friend group could be at least _half_ back together. come onnn i’m tired...” soobin whines as he stomps his foot hard on the group out of frustration.

“hey, watch it. the ahjummas downstairs are grumpy neighbors.” beomgyu scolds the boy for stomping his foot an awful amount of times.

“sorry...” he asks for forgiveness. “now... can we please work on you two? i’m tired of seeing us like this,” he pouts, losing his attempt at professionalism he possessed earlier.

“didn’t work the first time, hyung? what makes you think it’ll work this time? i mean, look at hyuka.” he points at the crying boy who’s head is laid against yeonjun’s chest.

“no, i’ll be fine...” he says back through a muffled cry.

“just... what happened? you guys are like the inseparables ones of the group and all of a sudden you’re at each other’s throats? now that doesn’t add up....” he expresses his worries while finally taking a seat on the couch next to beomgyu, from standing in that position for so long.

“he got mad at me. called me an asshole. then said he wished he picked someone else to be his fake boyfriend.” the older boy says monotonously while looking straight into beomgyu’s eyes who looked heavily guilty.

“beomgyu....” soobin gasps, turning to his side.

“listen, he was being rude during the dinner and started interrogating the fuck out of jihyun for no reason! and then he was barely paying attention during the double date and seemed so uninterested.” yeonjun could tell beomgyu was frustrated, but he needed to get his point across before it ended in another series of going back and forth.

“i was only being rude because his date was being rude to us first! she was being disrespectful and rude to the fact that we were two boys dating. and i was barely paying attention because i was texting soobin since i was so worried about the two young ones fighting. i needed a break and beomgyu decided to say i was an asshole and was bad at being his fake boyfriend. and then.... then i just lashed out because i felt so unappreciated. i do so much things for you because i care about you and you had the nerve to say that about me.”

beomgyu stays silent for a few seconds and soobin looks at him to give him time to respond back. playing with his fingers, he looks at yeonjun with regret and guilt, nearly making yeonjun’s heart turn.

“but what yeonjun-hyung said was-”

“true. what i said was fucking true and you can say otherwise but i won’t listen. you’re chasing after some asshole who cannot even see the good in you. you’re wasting your time on someone who can’t even meet you halfway and it hurts me to see you like that, okay? so if i’m wrong for protecting you, then yes call me an asshole.” soobins mouth hangs open while beomgyu keeps his eyes glued to the carpet, knowing that if he connects eyes with yeonjun it’d be over for him.

“but he’s not like that! you just want to see him that way.” beomgyu pleads in frustration, on the edge of his seat. “i know you guys don’t like him, i could tell. but i’m serious, when we hang out and it’s just us, he treats me so well even if it’s just as friends. he listens to me, he makes me feel welcomed, he knows all the right things to say, he helps me open up about things, and he’s himself. and i like that about him so much. i know what you guys see of him, he seems like a douche but i promise you, he treats me right. and i feel like he’s playing extremely hard to get, which is why i asked hyung for this stupid fake dating thing, which i’m still sorry about.” hearing beomgyu talk so dearly about someone made yeonjun’s heart go warm even if he wanted to get angry so bad. he just couldn’t.

yeonjun must have judged jihyun at first as some typical college frat. but hearing it from beomgyu’s perspective really made it different on his side. it seems as if he makes beomgyu happy and is treating him well. hearing beomgyu speak so highly about jihyun made yeonjun’s anger lower a bit. it was true, yeonjun always chose to ignore the way jihyun made his best friend happy.

but that’s all he ever wants.

for beomgyu to be happy.

even if it’s not with him.

“but you can’t keep doing this, gyu. i know he makes you happy but every time something goes wrong, you can’t lash out and get angry at me. because honestly, it makes me feel so bad about the person i’ve been to you. it makes me feel like i’m not doing a good job at being your best friend. and of course all i ever want is for you to find someone who makes you happy, but we can’t keep getting into small fights like these.” the fact that beomgyu really struggled to look him in the eyes was bad enough already.

“well then stop being such a dick to jihyun. you’re not even letting him prove himself and-”

“that’s the thing, beomgyu! the fact that he even _has_ to prove himself is bad enough. i was and still am a little skeptical of him and yeah sure, maybe he’s playing hard to get but what if you’re both just getting with other people to make each other jealous, then what? huh?”

it had never occurred to beomgyu’s mind that jihyun was getting with other people to make him jealous. because if beomgyu himself was doing it, how far-fetched would it be for jihyun to do it? and there were no explanations as to why jihyun was so affectionate towards beomgyu but still refused to show any signs of him being attracted.

as soon as beomgyu attempts to retaliate, the knock on the door snaps him out of his thoughts.

“i’ll get it, i’m tired of this anyways.” yeonjun dismisses himself, walking towards the door.

he twists the door knob and opens it to find the man of the hour himself.

jihyun.

“dude, i swear. you always come at the wrong time but we really can’t talk right now because we’re busy,” he lets the boy know in the most groggy tone.

“wait. i only need a bit of your time,” he says in a begging tone.

“look, man. give us an hour and-”

“i’ll be 2 minutes. 5 minutes at most. i just wanted to talk to you and beomgyu. it could even be in the hallway or something.” yeonjun knew that whatever he’d do or say won’t stop this persistent man from squeezing in whatever important conversation he was trying to have with the pair. so as he’s crossing his arms and leaning against the door frame, he decides to give the boy a rest and releases a heavy sigh.

“fine.”

“baby, jihyun is here! he wants to talk to us really quick.” he yells for beomgyu in the living room, who is still in shock from hearing the pet name. huening kai as well as soobin are surprised to hear yeonjun’s sudden shift in tone and affection, but that all deteriorates when they notices jihyun at the front door.

“okay, babe. i’m coming.” he quickly says before attempting to wipe his tears.

he walks towards the door before signaling to the two that he’ll be back. closing the door behind him, he sees yeonjun trying his best not to glare at jihyun who was standing in the hallway. he had no idea what the boy was doing here. he didn’t even send a text or let beomgyu know that he was on his way. he was just as surprised as yeonjun was.

“hey... i wanted to talk to the both of you...” jihyun fidgets with his fingers before shoving them in his pocket out of anxiousness.

beomgyu stands beside yeonjun before quietly slipping under his arms. he does it slowly to test the waters and see if yeonjun was upset, but as always, he was so immersed and loyal to his role that he didn’t hesitate to put his arm over beomgyu’s shoulders. beomgyu wrapped his right arm around yeonjun’s waist and began rubbing comforting circles on his sides.

almost as if it was his way of saying sorry.

he was no longer holding him as yeonjun’s fake boyfriend this time.

he was holding his as beomgyu.

just, beomgyu.

“look, i wanted to apologize for the double date yesterday. i just met her and i didn’t know she’d be like that, okay? if i did, i would have never taken her. i’m sorry for not stepping in when she made comments that made you two uncomfortable, and i’m sorry for just letting it happen. i just wanted to stop by and say that because it’s been bothering me.” the poor boy was so nervous he was stuttering over his words far too much, his tongue was practically dragging across the floor. yeonjun staring at him in the most intimidate way wasn’t helping him in his case.

“oh? well thank you, hyung. you don’t have to apologize for someone else’s mistakes but i appreciate you for coming all the way here.” beomgyu then removes his hands from around yeonjun’s waist to nervously fidget with his fingers.

“yeah, man. thanks for doing this. i’m glad you did this and didn’t just push it under the rug. we appreciate it.” and yeonjun was serious. he obviously isn’t too fond of the boy. but it was nice to have him notice his mistake.

“thanks... uh- that was all i came here for.” he scratches the back of his neck. “i hope the three of us can go out some time, but for now i’m gonna get going now. i had a pile of homework on my desk that i’ve been avoiding.” he laughs nervously, obviously trying his best to get out of this uncomfortable situation.

“bye, jihyun.” beomgyu smiles before waving at him as his fingers dance in a flirty way.

as beomgyu and yeonjun see that the boy has walked down the stairs and is out of sight, yeonjun quickly removes his arms from over beomgyu’s shoulder. beomgyu shudders at the lack of his touch. yeonjun pulled away too quick as if he didn’t want to hold onto him any longer.

when yeonjun tries to push the door open, he notices it’s awfully heavy. that’s when he realizes something, and pushes it even harder, causing soobin and huening kai to wince in pain. the two were on the other side of the door with their ears glued against the wood to try and eavesdrop on the previous conversation.

beomgyu shakes his head at their behavior, “you guys are so nosy.”

as yeonjun walks in in silence, he grabs his phone from the couch before dismissing himself.

“don’t ever say i’m bad at this when i still pretend to be your fake boyfriend even if we’re fighting.”

yeonjun storms into his bedroom not long after.

soobin, huening kai, and beomgyu look at each other in shock.

“so uhhhh.... that went well, didn’t it??”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooo uhhh??? light angst hehe 
> 
> and i just wanted to explain beomgyu’s character briefly??? i know he may be irritating y’all as i see ur comments but beomgyu is whipped for jihyun and will tend to ignore everything everyone says about him including yeonjun which leads him to this bratty behavior that you all r annoyed with hehe and no i’m not trying to plot his as the bad guy, i’m just trying to write his character this way from more “drama” and a possible character development hahha 
> 
> now with that out of the way, in the beginning notes i talked about whether u guys want me to put a pause on this book and finish my jikook book or to just discontinue it bc i no longer feel the passion or motivation with that book no more:(( and i know i just came back from a super long hiatus and i don’t wanna have to do that again, please let me know ur thoughts!!
> 
> and another question!! as you can telll, today’s qotds were reader’s edition themed and learning about my readers and interacting with them is something fun i like to do so please let me know if you want me to only stick to txt themed questions, or switch the themes of the questioned every once in a while!! 
> 
> now alsooo pls let me know what y’all though about this chapter... do u guys think tyunning will make up??? is beomgyu finally coming to his senses??? how do w feel about soobin tryna be an angel hehehe 
> 
> and don’t forget to participate in the qotds so we can learn more about each other!! those are my fav parts of reading comments 
> 
> see you next chapter! <3 
> 
> if you’re still reading comment “bighit thank u for giving us black haired taehyun but why did u take away his orange hair” hehehe that was kinda long but ik not a lot of people read these (lets see my loyal readers)


	11. this is gonna be a long night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellloo everyone!!! i am on a roll this is my second week of ACTUALLY updating on my scheduled day hehehe 
> 
> nowww that comeback season is approaching, i promise i will nottt abandon those book like i did the last time the boys had a comeback ahahahah i will be updating frequently 
> 
> also just want to thank all the lovely readers who always comment and participate in qotds and support this book i feel like i don’t say that enough 
> 
> hopefully this chapter is uhhh... okayy??? feel free to yell at me in the comments 
> 
> this is my shortest beginning notes ever hehe enjooyyyyy 
> 
> with that being said, here are ur set of today’s qotd’s!!
> 
> 1.) what song(s) do you wish had a music video? 
> 
> 2.) which member(s) have you not biased? 
> 
> 3.) which song do you think is the most underrated and deserves better? (TO MY VERY FEW CWJLTMA STANS PLS STAND UP WHY DOES EVERYONE SKIP HER) 
> 
> i think i’m the most excited for these answers and my CWJLTMA STANS PLEASE BACK ME UP THERES LIKE TWO OF US 
> 
> enjoy and happy reading!! <3

when yeonjun wakes up, it’s no shock to him that beomgyu is not by his side once again. after every fight, it was a routine of the two to sleep in their own rooms due to the slight childishness of not wanting to be the first one to apologize.

so he goes into beomgyu’s room to find him packing a small backpack as he’s already dressed to leave.

“oh? good morning. where uh... where are you going?” yeonjun hesitates, growing a bit anxious at seeing beomgyu pack some clothes into his small bag.

“i’m staying at the other boys’ apartment for a while.” he explains in a dull tone, refusing to look at yeonjun. “just for a couple of days.”

“you’re leaving me alone in the apartment?” yeonjun blandly asks. it’s more of a bitter tone than a disappointed one.

“you’ll have taehyun. he said he was going to stay here in trade since him and hyuka are feuding.” shoving the last bits of shirts in his bag, he flings it over his back before passing yeonjun, making his way out in the living room.

“no, he’s actually staying at eunji’s for two days since she’s back and they’re gonna do some catching up.” not hiding the edge in his voice, yeonjun lets known his sudden disappointment in beomgyu. he was bitter at first, though the boy’s ego was getting too much in the way of their fight.

“oh... well did you want me to stay then?” he insincerely offers, and yeonjun is taken aback by his sudden mercurial temperament.

“it would be nice, yeah. but now i’d rather you leave because you obviously want to.” the way the ill-natured words left yeonjun’s tongue felt greatly unfamiliar. all he ever spouts towards the younger boy is love, so when it registers in his mind that he has said something slightly offensive to beomgyu, he even shocks himself.

“w-what?” turning around, beomgyu himself looks taken aback by yeonjun’s words.

“you know, i’d rather have you stay here because you want to. not because you’re forced to because of me. and right now it seems like you so badly wanna leave. and i’m not going to stop you. so if you want to, go ahead. i just wish you’d talk to me first before doing these things so that i’m not constantly worried about you.” yeonjun’s concerns were going unsaid and he was growing frustrated at the way beomgyu always turned a blind eye at what he was trying do.

“well not everything i do needs to be reported to you.” he lets known in a vexed comportment.

“and i get that,” yeonjun empathizes. “but do you think waking up to my best friend packing his bag without a word is the best thing to wake up to in the morning? it really isn’t the greatest feeling knowing we’re fighting so letting me know that you’re leaving for a few days would’ve at least sufficed.”

yeonjun was tired of arguing.

“hyung, i don’t want to talk about it right now.”

“when will we ever then, huh? i’ve been feeling so excluded from you, so left out. you’re always with jihyun now and he’s all you talk about. i get it, you’re sprung over him which is normal, but i’d appreciate some time with you too.” yeonjun felt vulnerable. he felt like a little kid trying to explain how he felt to his parents and it was unusual for him to be in this position.

“what, so you’re jealous of jihyun now?” he accuses in the most bitter tone as a virulent attack towards yeonjun.

yeonjun’s eyes widen.

“i can’t believe that this is what you think of me right now.” pinching his nose bridge, yeonjun looks at the silver haired boy in frustration. “i’m not jealous of jihyun. are you serious? i’m upset at you for not giving me at least a minute of your day as a best friend.” the lump in his throat was very much evident, getting in the way of letting him say what he really wants to say.

“seriously? we live together. we’re around each other for almost every minute of each day. what more do you want?” yeonjun’s heart dropped at beomgyu’s response.

“you’re here for me physically. that is not the same as being with me emotionally.”

beomgyu tilts his head to the side in attempts to try to understand what yeonjun was trying to get at. yeonjun’s frustration was growing increasingly as the conversation continued, and he tried his best to keep it in for beomgyu.

“look, if you’re gonna half ass this i’d rather not have this conversation.” yeonjun so badly wants to release everything and cry right now, but for once he didn’t want to be vulnerable in front of his best friend.

“no, i didn’t mean to-”

“grab your things if you’re ready. i’ll be waiting in the car.” yeonjun interrupts him in hopes of changing the topic.

“what?”

“i’ll drive you to the boys’ apartment. that is unless you want to take the bus. but i’d be more happy knowing you got there safely. or if jihyun is gonna pick you up and drop you off there, tell me now.” tugging on his jacket, beomgyu looks at him in regret.

“oh... uh jihyun won’t be picking me up today...” he coyly answers.

* * *

the drive to the boys’ apartments had to be one of the most awkward car rides yeonjun has had since his and beomgyu’s last fight. the sound of his blinkers during a stop light felt like agonizing pain and the faint sound of the radio infiltrating the small space of the car was not fitting for their situation. there was an instance in which both of the boys reached to change the station, causing their fingers to touch and it couldn’t have gone any more awkward than that.

“hyung?” beomgyu quietly turns to look at yeonjun who had his eyes attached to the road.

“hm?” he replies back in the most uninterested tone to let known his lack of interest in the conversation beomgyu was attempting to have. yeonjun knew it was petty but that was in the least of his worries right now.

“um, could we stop by at the market before going to the boys’ apartment? soobin-hyung, huening kai, and i wanted to cook a meal tonight and it totally slipped my mind that i had to grab some of the ingredients.” beomgyu obviously felt embarrassment at having to ask yeonjun a favor in the midst of a fight, but he knew the boy would do anything for him despite any situations.

“yeah, let me just take this left here since there’s one down the street.” he lowly says before taking a turn.

once they arrive at the grocery store, beomgyu grabs a cart of his own which was unusual. everytime the two went on their grocery trips, yeonjun was usually the cart pusher and beomgyu was usually the shopper, and they were very strict about this rule for some reason. but yeonjun suddenly remembered that they were once again fighting, and beomgyu probably wanted to do this alone.

“i’m gonna shop for some stuff at home. let me know when you’re finished and text me,” he says with a tight lipped smile. this was obviously a lie. he already went grocery shopping last week with beomgyu and they had more than enough food for home. he was just using this as an excuse to distance himself from the boy, since it was obviously what he wanted.

yeonjun absolutely hated grocery shopping, which is why he was usually the cart pusher as opposed to the shopper. his patience was very thin and he hated the amount of time shopping took up, so to say that he was over it was an understatement. walking around the grocery store pretending to shop and avoiding to run into beomgyu just added more onto the stress. shopping with beomgyu would have filled the empty hole just a bit more. he has no idea what’s taking the boy so long, but the grocery store only had so much space until he walks around it three whole times.

deciding that he should indeed buy at least some snacks so beomgyu doesn’t question why he didn’t bring anything back, he grabs a small basket and starts tossing in chips and bits of junk foods in there. he doesn’t forget to get beomgyu’s favorite as long as the three other boys’ for when they come over to visit.

as he’s picking out food, he can feel a couple of people staring at him, feeling them in his periphs. he turns to his right just to steal a glance, but chooses ignore it and goes back to this horrid thing called grocery shopping. once he feels it again, he decides that this time he can no longer ignore it so he turns to his right again and sees three girls giggling to themselves before waving at yeonjun in a flirty manner.

yeonjun smirks and waves back.

tossing a few more things into his basket, he walks towards the frozen section, but that’s when he hears sudden footsteps behind him before feeling a soft tap on his right shoulder.

“hi. yeonjun, right?” a blonde girl asks yeonjun while biting her lips. her two other friends on either side of her begin giggling uncontrollably the second yeonjun turns around.

“um, yeah. hi, have we met?” he asks, smiling.

“kind of? no? not really?” the other girl rambles, stumbling over her words before growing nervous once yeonjun giggles at her mistake.

“we saw you play music at some of the small parties we go to and we love your work. and you’re cute.” the blonde smiles wide before dragging a palm down her face once she realizes she has said a thought out loud. “fuck, i wasn’t supposed to say that.”

“thank you, that’s really sweet. i’m glad you like my music.” crinkling his nose, he gives them another smile and it was very much obvious what the girls were trying to hint at.

it’s not that yeonjun was interested. he very much wasn’t. but he admired their confidence and their energy that they put into this. the girls were sweet and nice, but they definitely weren’t his type.

“i was uh, i was wondering... if maybe you wanted to hang out sometime? like the two of us?” she spins a strand of her hair around her pointer finger before tugging her lower lip in between her teeth, and for a second yeonjun thinks he’s attracted to girls.

“baby, i’ve been looking for you.” beomgyu walks up to him before placing a delicate kiss on the corner of yeonjun’s mouth, nearly touching his lips. his heart skips a beat, maybe two, at the thought of beomgyu’s lips being that close to his.

he didn’t see it coming.

at all.

wrapping his arms around yeonjun’s waist, beomgyu looks up at yeonjun and flutters his lashes before looking at the three girls in front of him.

“hi! are these your friends, babe?” he says in the fakest tone ever. yeonjun could tell beomgyu was feigning and trying his best to be nice, but his tone was saying otherwise.

“um, no i just met them actually. they said they’ve seen me play at a couple of parties and came over to say hi,” yeonjun could already feel the tension between them. it made him feel a little surprised at how possessive beomgyu was being towards him. this was the first time it was ever reciprocated, and not gonna lie, yeonjun found it a little hot.

“yeah, we just came by to say hi and tell him how much we love seeing him play. are you um— are you guys... dating?” the blonde says with a hint of disappointment in her face and tone. she obviously was trying to make a move on yeonjun, and beomgyu wasn’t too fond of it.

“yeah! he’s my boyfriend actually.” beomgyu _almost_ smiles through gritted teeth, though the the girls’ hatred towards beomgyu was not too hard for yeonjun to spot.

“oh...” the blonde’s friends says crossing her arms with a smug look on her face. “well we just wanted to say hi and introduce ourselves. hope you guys have a good rest of your day,” turning around without waiting for a response, the blonde turns her back before her two other friends rub her shoulders in a consoling way as if she had just gotten her heart broken.

“you too, girls!” yeonjun says back.

beomgyu releases a loud sigh before making his way to the cash register, not even letting go of yeonjun’s arm waist anymore. he stays attached to the taller boy’s side until checkout, and yeonjun is so not used to this public clingy version of beomgyu. yes, at home beomgyu was as clingy as can be, but yeonjun was usually the one who initiated contacts in public. he would notice beomgyu turning his head and looking around everyone once in a while, while in line to try to search for the girls.

once they have rung up all their items, yeonjun pays for both of their groceries despite how many times beomgyu tried to interfere and pay for his own. the cashier was smiling at their antics since they shared the behavior of a married couple, and laughed at the way they fought over who would pay.

“here, let me carry that for you.” yeonjun offers, taking the bags from beomgyu’s hand who looked awfully pissed off.

hopping into the car, beomgyu slams the door and yeonjun is sure that something is bothering him.

yeonjun brings the groceries for whatever meal the boys are going to cook tonight back in the trunk before hopping in the front seat and starting up the car. as he reversed out of the parking, beomgyu releases a loud sigh before rubbing his forehead, and yeonjun knows that’s beomgyu’s way of trying to get his attention.

when yeonjun doesn’t respond to it, beomgyu releases another sigh, twice as louder as the last once before looking to his side to see if yeonjun realizes.

“is something bothering you?” yeonjun asks, trying his best not to smirk.

“those girls back there. i’m annoyed.” he crossed his arms before angrily furrowing his eyebrows.

“why? i don’t know, i thought they were sweet,” he gushes, smiling until his cheeks hurt and beomgyu isn’t too fond of yeonjun’s reaction. he shouldn’t be smiling that much at the thought of those grocery girls, and it was really hitting one of beomgyu’s nerves.

“are you kidding me? they were all over you.” he begins to roll down his window for some air because this seemed to get him in a heated mood. beomgyu was not an easy person to anger, so seeing him in this manner was a bit surprising for yeonjun.

“true, but i kinda liked it,” yeonjun lies through his words. he didn’t like that they were all over him, but he was saying that to strike at beomgyu’s nerves. yeonjun wants a reaction out of him.

“you’re ridiculous. even after i let them know i was your boyfriend they still kept looking, which i genuinely thought was kind of rude. it was disrespectful and they kept flirting with you in front of me. excuse me for getting possessive, but i just didn’t like the way they were trying to get at you.”

yeonjun wasn’t going to lie, seeing beomgyu all riled up and possessive over him was kind of hot, but he realizes that he may also be jealous. beomgyu hardly ever showed this side of him to yeonjun, and it gives him one bit of hope that maybe beomgyu feels what yeonjun feels.

“what, are you upset that i was talking to some girls and jihyun could have seen, which could have ruined our fake dating thing?” yeonjun was playing around a bit. he wasn’t taking this situation as beomgyu was and it was getting on the younger boy’s nerves.

“no? i don’t even care about that right now! i mean yeah, jihyun catching you would have been unfortunate, but i’m more concerned about the lack of respect those girls had towards me and our relationship we’re portraying.” once yeonjun realizes that beomgyu is actually frustrated and it’s no longer a joke, he notices that this really hurt beomgyu.

“okay, look. i’m sorry, okay? i’m sorry if it bothered you if i was reciprocating it back. but i do understand that it was a bit rude of them to do that in front of you and i should have said something. if it makes you feel better though, they’re not even my type. they’re literally girls.” yeonjun thought ending it lightly was funny to try and lighten the mood but beomgyu was obviously still stressed out about the whole situation.

“it’s okay.”

* * *

“beomgyu!”soobin exclaims, opening the door. “oh? and yeonjun-hyung? woah... have you guys made up...” he says awkwardly.

“uh, no? he just drove me here and helped me get groceries while flirting with other girls,” he mutters, and soobin looks at him wide-eyed.

“oh shit...” soobin whispers, looking at yeonjun in disappointment.

“first of all that’s not true, second of all, is everyone still here?” he asks, walking to their kitchen to set down the groceries. “and oh my god, it is so messy in here you guys really need to start cleaning cause taehyun won’t be here forever to look after you two.”

“um huening kai is in his room, sad. and taehyun’s about to leave to stay at eunji’s for two days. he’s really excited.” soobin goes through the groceries to pick through to see if yeonjun got any snacks, and it’s a good thing he knows his brothers well enough. “and excuse me, its really clean in here. taehyun is not the only one who does the cleaning.”

“that’s a lie!” the small boy says, putting on his shoes near the door before cuddling beomgyu in a hug. “by the way, i’m leaving guys!”

yeonjun leaves the kitchen to go to taehyun first. he walks up to the front door to see beomgyu babying him and zipping up his jackets while asking hasty questions the way a mother would.

“you take care, okay? call me when you get there and tell eunji i say hi. _do not_, and i’m telling you,_ do not_ do anything silly. make sure you brought everything and don’t forget to-”

“okay, mom. i’ll be fine. it’s two days, hyung. not one year. i’ll be okay.” he chuckles, hugging beomgyu one more time before grabbing all his things.

“you better be careful, you. take care and call us when you get there, okay?” yeonjun worriedly says as well before grabbing the back of his neck to pull him into a hug.

“i willll. geez, you guys are like my parents, my goodness.” chuckling, he checks fo see if he has everything before letting soobin know he’s leaving as well. “and can you guys tell hyuka im leaving too?”

“of course.” beomgyu smiles. “take care, i love you.”

“love you all too.”

soobin walks back into the kitchen to look through the ingredients and discards them all out of the bag to see if beomgyu has gotten everything. when beomgyu’s disappears into huening kai’s room, soobin takes this as a perfect opportunity to get the beans out of yeonjun.

“so you guys are still mad but you drove him here and helped him shop?” soobin questions in a _what the fuck_ tone.

“well i wasn’t gonna let him take the bus alone or travel by himself. i would’ve felt better knowing he was safe so of course i drove him,” as yeonjun begins washing the vegetables, soobin looks at him and gushes like a teenage girl.

“what? you fucknut.” yeonjun irritably glares at his younger brother who was teasing too much.

“oh notthinggg.” he sing-songs. “now are you going home anytime soon?”

“yeah, i was just dropping off beomgyu and then heading ho-”

“great. you’re staying here and helping us cook, and hopefully make up with beomgyu. now can you go to huening kai and make him feel better and tell him we’re gonna start cooking now?” the taller boy begins bringing out all the pans and the ingredients for the dish that they’re planning on cooking together.

“damn, you’re bossy.”

as yeonjun tiptoes his way into the hallway and makes his way towards huening kai’s room, he notices that his door is cracked a smidgen. that’s when he remembers that beomgyu went straight to huening kai’s room the second that they stepped foot in this apartment. he winks one eye close to try to make out what’s happening inside the room and he sees huening kai in beomgyu’s arms. he hears little murmurs and sniffles, and it isn’t long until yeonjun realizes what’s happening inside.

“i’m so fucking stupid, hyung. i hurt him but i didn’t mean to say it. i was just heated in the moment and my mouth wasn’t consulting with my brain. and now he’s gonna go to eunji’s and fall in love with her and marry her and i’ll die sad,” he says through hiccups, and yeonjun can’t help but laugh at how dramatic his brother could be sometimes.

“hey, calm down. listen, when i’m mad i say impulsive things to yeonjunnie all the time. that’s why we’re fighting again. am i proud of it? no. do i mean any of what i said? no. but i know how much i hurt him, and i keep running from my problems. i don’t want you to be doing the same. and of course it’s upsetting! you don’t think i’m upset at the fact of not talking to yeonjun? of course i am, but i know that we have to work through it.” he cracks, with an edge in his voice. “and look, you need to stop thinking ahead. i don’t know what thing you and taehyunnie have going on, but eunji just got back into the picture. i know he’s been gushing over her a lot, but what if they’re genuinely just trying to catch up, huh? maybe she even has a boyfriend. you never know. stop thinking so negative, hyuka.” the way beomgyu was holding huening kai in his arms warmed yeonjun’s heart.

“thank you, beomgyu-hyungie,” he cries out, sobbing into his chest.

“no need to be, hyuka.”

pretending that he had just gotten there, yeonjun knocks on huening kai’s door as if he hadn’t been pressing his ear against the wall the whole time to eavesdrop on their heartwarming conversation.

“we’re gonna start cooking now, are you guys coming?” he questions as huening kai fails to slickly wipe his tears while beomgyu continues to coddle the younger boy.

“hyung! you’re here.” he says excitedly like a little boy waiting for his parent to come home from work. yeonjun adores his little brother for always appreciating him despite how old he gets.

“i am.” he giggles, ruffling his hair, “now get your asses out there, i don’t trust soobin with that big ass knife while the stove is on,” he orders, tapping both of their bums.

once yeonjun waits for huening kai to disappear into the kitchen, he tries to get a word in towards beomgyu who is making huening kai’s bed.

“hey,” he softly says, waiting for beomgyu to give him his full attention. “i know i shouldn’t have snooped my nose in, but i just wanted to say thank you for being so helpful towards huening kai. i know it’s a bit rocky for him but i care about him deeply and it was really sweet of you to sit down with him and comfort him, thank you.”

“yeah, of course.” he gives yeonjun a weighty smile before his dimples that yeonjun very much love sink deep into his cheek.

before yeonjun and beomgyu can even get the chance to turn around and head into the kitchen, he sees soobin wearing an apron while holding a burnt cooking glove as he smiles nervously. huening kai is behind him attempting to suppress his giggles as he cups his mouth.

“so uh... i kind of burned all the carrots...” he nervously smiles while scratching the back of his head.

“what were you doing cooking carrots? holy shit.” yeonjun groans in agony before running to the kitchen were smoke was coming from.

this was gonna be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooooo what did we all think???? 
> 
> before i get into it i just wanted to say thank u to everyone in the previous chapter who gave me advice about losing my passion writing the jikook book. i knew a few of u have read that and i just didn’t wanna disappoint! so thank u for helping me if u commented
> 
> and for everyone who guessed my age, i don’t think anyone got it but i’m actually 16 turning 17 this year in the fall ahahhaha 
> 
> now to the story.... couple of questions for u hehe how well do u think beomgyu handled the grocery girls??? do u think tyunning will get their shit together, and is there hope in beomjun???? 
> 
> thank u to anyone who actually answers those^^^ hehe
> 
> and i think that is all for today!!! please don’t forget to participate in the qotds so we can learn more about each other, this weeks set of questions might be my favorite ones to see the answers to <3 
> 
> and feel free to comment ur thoughts on this chapter and make any suggestions 
> 
> see you next chapter!! <3 
> 
> ik some ppl don’t read this far and read this at all and i’ve been doing this through the past chapters but comment what you think they were cooking and “cwjltma is their superior song” i’m very passionate about that song as u can see


	12. ruined dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooo everyonneee!!! sorry if i was late today but i still have a couple of hours of the day left soo here is the next chapter!! i promise i’ll be on time next week heheh 
> 
> also wanted to formally apologize bc i just realized yesterday that i uploaded the unedited version of last chapter so i’m soo sorry if u read that with errors!!
> 
> but as i said and as i say in most of the chapters, this is an angst book... sooo.... uh perhaps this is a hint lol
> 
> ima keep my notes short since i ramble too much but before i let you guys read, how excited are you guys for the next comeback!!! oh my goodness we’re no longer clowns anymore 
> 
> anyways i’ll stop talking now wow this is my shortest notes ever 
> 
> here are today’s set of qotds!: 
> 
> 1.) you could only have one album on replay, which one is it gonna be: dream chapter star or dream chapter magic? 
> 
> 2.) run away era or debut era? 
> 
> 3.) least fav song? (i LOVE ALLL THEIR SONGS but if i were to pick i would naos, again this is my second formal apology for noas stans) 
> 
> happy reading!! <3

when all the three boys’ attempt to cooking their original meal failed, yeonjun decided to be the big brother that he was and step in to cook their favorite meal instead.

aglio e olio.

which is why all four of them are now sat on the dinner table eating that instead of whatever soobin, huening kai, and beomgyu had in mind. yeonjun couldn’t help but grin at the fact that soobin and huening kai were downing their food, and even coming back for seconds. but beomgyu was barely touching his food which was worrying yeonjun. he was using the tip of his fork to pick and the pasta, and only moved it around his plate barely even take a bite.

“hyung, thanks for cooking for us. since we ruined.... the food...” huening kai says, shrinking in his seat as he begins to recall the fire alarm going off just one hour prior.

“how else will your asses survive without me, huh?” he earns an eye roll from soobin and a tight lipped smile from beomgyu.

the atmosphere in the room was slightly tense. beomgyu was obviously very off. something was bothering him, and yeonjun could tell. huening kai was still sad. he was upset about his fight with taehyun, and huening kai was always the person who created the noise in the house. it was always him and beomgyu, so when the two most loud people in the house were being silent, yeonjun knew something was up.

“god, why is everyone so sadddd...” soobin groans, shoving a mouthful of noodles into his mouth.

“soobin, shut up. eat your noodles, oh my god.” yeonjun earns his second eye roll of the day from him and he so badly wants to reach over the table and give him a slight slap. but for the sake of this peaceful dinner, he is able to resist himself.

“oh and by the way guys, taehyun is coming over tomorrow with eunji to have dinner. i’m sure you guys remember her,” yeonjun announced, all the the three boys’ face immediately drop right after.

“ugh... and to think hyuka’s night wasn’t ruined enough already.” soobin tries to say through a mouthful of noodles. huening kai turns his head and glares at the older one, which is apparently funny to beomgyu who begins giggling.

yeonjun loves his giggles.

“i’m so serious right now, soobin. stop talking oh my god.” yeonjun drags his palm down his face. soobin was making things worse for huening kai. it was definitely not helping.

“come on, guys. be nice! you know how much taehyun adored her whenever he would visit his grandparents back in daegu. he hasn’t seen her in a long time and i’m sure he misses her. and she’s in the city for awhile so give the two a break. it’s only for a couple of hours, so i’m gonna need you guys to behave for just a couple of hours.”

being the mom of the group was hard. yeonjun always had to have the boys in check and had to discipline their actions since they acted like little kids. if one person hated someone, that means they as a group collectively hated them as well. and this person just had to be eunji. sure, yeonjun wasn’t too fond of her either, but someone had to be slightly mature enough to tolerate her existence and he knew that would be neither beomgyu or huening kai. soobin was his only hope, and even soobin he hardly trusted with her.

“no, dude. remember when she got mad at me because she accused me of having a crush on taehyun? like? are you serious, he’s like my little brother. he’s my best friend. gross i can’t even stand taehyun’s bossy ass, let alone wanna be in a relationship with him. she’s too insecure,” beomgyu chides in trying to announce his deep hatred towards the girl.

“oh my god, and then she cried to taehyun about it after we laughed at her.” soobin clutches his stomach in pain as he dissolves into fits of laughter. his fist was banging on the table out of amusement.

but there was someone who wasn’t too fond of this conversation.

huening kai.

he was looking at soobin, pressing his lips together as tight as he could to suppress his laughters but the recollection of that memory was just something he couldn’t keep a straight face at.

“hyuka, do you want us to change the topic?” beomgyu softly says from across the table. he adored huening kai with everything in him, and once he notices the younger’s slight discomfort, he wanted to do something right away to pull him away from the state of malaise.

“i don’t really mind.” he whispers, resuming back into eating his pasta as he tries to ignore soobin who is still dying on the side, trying to contain his laughter.

“i just-“

and before huening kai could even finish, he brings both of his hands to cup his face before releasing his cries into them. his elbows were both directly on the table for support, while his palms were cupping his face in attempt to hide his tears, but his trembles and sniffles were a great give away.

“you idiot, look what you did! you made him cry!” beomgyu says worriedly towards soobin, who has finally stopped laughing.

“dude, it wasn’t me! i was just laughing at-”

“both of you, stop. i’m serious.” yeonjun says sternly in a very serious manner. anything relating to his brothers or two other best friends, he took very seriously. and this was one of those moments.

scooting his chair, he drags it next to huening kai, who naturally falls into his chest and cries into it. he always leaned on his older brother for anything, and right now was a time where he needed it the most.

“i’m so sorry, huening kai. i know....” he whispers, rubbing the boys head which was on his chest, while he looks across the table to see beomgyu and soobin whisper-yelling at each other.

“i don’t like it when taehyunnie and i fight.” he sniffles, looking up to give himself time to breathe.

yeonjun’s heart cracks a bit.

soobin is quick to drag his chair as well to the left of huening kai. soobin was like huening kai’s tail. he follows him around everywhere and is so enamored by the youngest. and although soobin would never admit it out loud, huening kai was soobin’s baby. soobin hated seeing his younger brother cry or in any form of discomfort, so seeing him weep and take comfort in yeonjun’s chest really made soobin uneasy.

“hyuka, what’s wrong? i know you’re upset about you and taehyun, but this is taking such a toll on you,” he deflates breath growing shaky at seeing huening kai in pain.

“i-i hate f-fighting with h-him...” he tries to let out through hiccups. he gives himself a minute or two to calm down his breathing and wipes away his tears before voicing his grief. “and now that eunji is back, i know that’s gonna limit my time with him because i know how much he adores her. and i know that she’s obviously not too fond of me either but our fight this time was not just a normal one, it was a big fight and it’s eating me alive, hyung....”

yeonjun looks over to beomgyu who is pulling his chair next to him, so that they are all next to huening kai now.

“and this... this whole thing... i don’t know what it is. i don’t know what i’m feeling.”

“hyuka...” beomgyu softly whispers in the most consoling manner. “do you perhaps, like taehyun?”

huening kai’s breath hitches.

“fuck, maybe? no? i don’t fucking know, god i think.” he goes back and forth with himself and yeonjun grows nervous at the thought of his younger brother being in love. “i don’t know guys, sometimes i’m so certain that i am, but sometimes i just think that it’s my mind playing games, y’know? like i try to not think about it at all, cause he’s my best friend but it’s always sitting at the back of my mind. i just don’t like the thought of him being with someone else...”

soobin stiffly sits in his seat before releasing a loud breath.

“i fuckinggg knewww itt!” he exclaims, shaking huening kai back and forth who is not having it.

“soobin, i swear to fuck if you say one more wrong thing at the wrong time, i’m locking you in your room. i don’t care how old you are,” yeonjun finally caves in. the first time and second time was alright, but the third time struck his nerve.

“fine,” he rolls his eyes, pouting in his seat with his arms crossed in a displeased manner.

“ha ha,” beomgyu’s teases, sticking his toungue out at soobin.

“you too, i’m serious,” yeonjun points his finger at beomgyu accusingly, who is quick to shrink in his seat and return the same arms crossed and pouting manner that soobin is doing.

“i’m full,” the youngest voices, dropping his fork against the plate. “can i go to bed now, please...” he pleads, not too comfortable with the conversation they are having at hand.

“yeah... i’m sorry, hyuka.” beomgyu is the one to dismiss him.

“it’s okay, guys. i just need space, i guess.”

once huening kai leaves the table and the sound of his door shutting is heard, beomgyu and soobin begin arguing loudly about whose fault it is and they begin bickering on and on. yeonjun starts to clean the table and put dishes in the sink, when he realizes the bickering of the two was already unbearable.

“can you two shut up, damn. it’s no ones fault. hyuka’s just feeling down. now stop fucking bickering and clean the table, taehyun’s not here to do it this time,” he bosses them, already starting on the dishes.

“you’re so bossy, oh my god.” soobin rolls his eyes.

“right?” beomgyu agreed, nudging his shoulder as if he said it quietly but yeonjun could very much so hear them.

“okay, well i’m gonna get going and drive home now,” yeonjun announces, wiping his wet hands on the paper towels. “can you guys make sure to check up on huening kai for me? and i’m so serious you guys, please clean up for tomorrow since eunji’s coming over. taehyun’s gonna be so upset if it’s messy. and please, just try to tolerate her for a couple of hours.” tugging on his sweatshirt, yeonjun grabs his phones and keys and heads towards the door put his shoes on.

“wait...” beomgyu calls out.

soobin begins looking at the two from the side of his eyes as he wipes the dishes cry, pretending he’s not in the room.

“maybe you should just stay? it’s really late and the rain is kinda heavy. it’ll be safer...” the silver haired boy softly suggests, which makes yeonjun rethink for a moment.

“oh, uh it’s okay i’ll be fine. the rain isn’t that bad. i’m sure i’ll be able to make it.” he smiles softly.

soobin is heard in the kitchen obnoxiously coughing as if he were trying to hint at or say something but the two were smart enough to ignore his antics.

“are you sure? i mean it’s almost 2am. i know you get sleepy easily i just don’t want you to fall asleep on the wheel.” the worry in beomgyu’s voice was clearly evident, and it warmed yeonjun’s heart just a tad bit knowing that even in the midst of a fight, beomgyu was still concerned about him.

“i’ll be okay.”

“okay, stay safe. text me when you get home.”

**love💕**   
_i made it home safely. hope you sleep well tonight. im still sorry, i’ll be here if you want to talk about it_

* * *

yeonjun always wakes up late without beomgyu by his side. you see, beomgyu would always be the one to nag him and not sleep in until 2pm every day. and that’s exactly what he did today.

and for some reason, every time he wakes up, there’s always banging on the door first thing in the afternoon to start off his day.

he prays it’s beomgyu who finally decided to come home a few days early so they can sort things out and talk about their argument, but is it crazy that yeonjun knows just by the knock that it wasn’t him?

groaning, he gets out of bed expecting it to be huening kai or maybe even soobin, but the person behind the door was definitely the last person he expected. he wishes he would have fixed up just a little instead of answering the door straight out of bed.

“um? hi?” yeonjun scratches his head, winking one eye closed as he still tries to adjust to the natural sunlight. “w-why are you here? i don’t even think i got your name honestly.”

“look, i know this is weird how i just showed up to your doorstep unannounced, but i just thought i’d let you know a couple of things. can i have a few minutes with you?” she tugs her lip under her teeth as she shrinks into her hoodie.

she looked quite different from the last time yeonjun saw her. she was all dressed up, face full of makeup, but today she was just in casual attire and a bare face.

“i’m so lost. why are you here? how did you even get my address?” yeonjun was sketched out. jihyun’s date was outside his door and he definitely did not expect her to be here out of all people.

“look look look, i’d be confused if i were you too. but i’m jinae. i never properly introduced myself that day, i’m so sorry.” yeonjun is losing it. the girl stood in front of his doorstep is definitely not the same girl he met during the double date. this couldn’t be her. she was too nice to be her. 

“well, jinae. you were quite rude the first time we met and i have things to do today so if-”

“look this is about jihyun and i just wanted to let you know this because i feel terrible keeping it in. just one minute of your time.” she stammers, rocking back and forth on her heels and toes out of nervousness.

“oh?” yeonjun tilts his head to the side because this is definitely not where he expected his afternoon to go. “oh, well you could come in if you want.” he steps aside to make a walkway for her before she kicks her shoes of. “you can sit on the couch.” he offers.

“sooo.... uh, what about jihyun are you here to tell me? i don’t know, you look really tense right now and it looked kind of important, but don’t think this is my way of forgiving you for being rude that day,” he recites sloppily taking a seat on the couch, still groggy from waking up.

“look, first of all. i just wanted to apologize. i’m not usually a bitch like that, actually i never am. i’m actually a really nice person, i work at the school cafe and i see you sometimes.” she confesses, playing with the strings on her hoodie from anxiousness.

“then why the sudden switch up on the double date? and i’m sorry i’m so lost, what are you trying to get at here?” yeonjun’s brain only functions during school hours which is why he was slacking a bit. and him being awake for less then twenty minutes really wasn’t helping in his case either.

“look, jihyun’s like... super whipped over your boyfriend. i’m not sure if you know. and i’m not actually his date, i honestly never was. i don’t even date, i focus on my school work mostly, but we’re close friends and he asked me for a favor. he asked me to be his fake date to get beomgyu jealous which is super fucked up, i know. but jihyun’s done a lot for me so i caved in. but me acting like a bitch wasn’t part of the plan, i was just pissed as fuck at jihyun for making me do it... so yeah, i do apologize for that part...” she giggles, tugging on her gray sweatshirt out of embarrassment.

“so... youre jihyun’s fake date because he wanted to make my boyfriend jealous since he likes beomgyu?” yeonjun tries to piece this together but it was too early in the afternoon for his brain to be shifting gears like this.

“yeah...” she guiltily says, “but look, i tried talking him out of it so many times but he wouldn’t listen to me. and i just felt so wrong keeping this from you, so i went ahead and told you, but please don’t let jihyun know that i did this. he’ll get really upset. i told him how fucked up it was because beomgyu is your boyfriend and i can see how much you care about him so keeping this from you really drove me crazy. and i hope you know i’m not actually like that. i was just trying to piss jihyun off that night and show him that what he’s doing is fucked up.” the poor girl was almost trembling, she was nothing like she presented herself that night, yeonjun found it hard to believe it was actually her.

“look, thank you so much for letting me know. i appreciate it, i just knew something was off that night but i just ignored it. but don’t worry about it, i’m not upset with you. i’m more upset with jihyun i guess. and you’re very different from when i met you that night. you seem pretty cool. thanks for coming here and letting me know.” saying that seemed to calm down her nerves. she returns yeonjun with a cheeky smile which sends yeonjun into overdrive.

she was cute.

yeonjun was bisexual, though his preference was 99% in men and that 1% was in women. and perhaps jinae was in that one percent.

“god that’s such a relief hearing that, i thought you were gonna yell at me or something, i was so scared...” she releases her nervous laughter, returning yeonjun with a lopsided grin. “i didn’t want you to hate me because i thought you were pretty cool. i’ve seen you play at some parties and your sets were always so good. and when i work nights at the cafe i always see you and your boyfriend, and you two are such a cute pair, oh my goodness. so i felt awful hiding this.”

yeonjun furrows his eyebrows out of confusion for a few moments, until he finally gets what she’s saying. everytime beomgyu and yeonjun head to the cafe to study at night, they never continue on with the fake boyfriend thing, they only do that in front of jihyun. so when they’re at the cafe, they only act as yeonjun and beomgyu, not as boyfriends.

but apparently, them acting normally towards each other convinces other people that they are boyfriends as well.

but they don’t try to act like boyfriends.

that’s just how they act around each other.

the two probably just get too immersed in their roles every now and then.

“that’s really sweet, thank you for telling me this. i’m sorry i was rude earlier answering the door,” he scratches the back of his head.

“no, no! you had every right to be! your first encounter with me was so shitty so don’t even worry about it. i’m just glad we got things straight.”

yeonjun feels awful now hiding his and beomgyu’s fake dating scheme from her. she just came to his apartment and took free time out of her day to confess jihyun’s fake dating antics, that he felt awful keeping it from her but he didn’t know her well enough or trust her enough to let her know.

“look i’m gonna get going now, but here’s my number if you ever wanna talk. or if you just want free things from the cafe, i got you.” she cheekily says, handing yeonjun a piece of paper with her digits in it.

it was nice for yeonjun to talk to a girl without her flirting every second.

as she’s getting up from the couch and tugging on her shoes to get ready to leave, the lock on the door starts turning and the sound of keys jingling is heard from behind the door.

fuck.

beomgyu.

“oh... hi?” his voice breaks through a tired haze.

“sorry, i was just leaving.” jinae gives him a smile before zooming out of the door and leaving. she gives yeonjun one last smile and mouths an_ im sorry_ before making her way out.

“beomgyu, w-what are you doing h-here?” he stutters, shocked that the boy has already returned.

“well you texted me last night saying if i was ready to talk, to come to you. so i fucking did. but turns out you had other plans...” he gnaws at his bottom lips, throwing his backpack onto the couch with such force.

“other plans? what? what are you even talking about?” yeonjun squints are him and shakes his head out of confusion.

“are you kidding me? what was she even doing here? wasn’t she jihyun’s date that you were so upset about but now all of a sudden she’s at our apartment and you didn’t bother to tell me? wow, yeonjun. i’d love to hear your explanation for this one.” beomgyu’s ears were growing red, and the boy even dropped the honorifics.

yeonjun begins to realize what this is starting to look like.

“it’s not what it looks like, gyu.” he softly says, attempting to walk towards the boy who backs up as yeonjun gets closer.

“is that why you didn’t want to stay the night last night, huh? so you could have her over and sleep with her?” he begins raising his voice and yeonjun could see the vein on his neck growing thick.

yeonjun’s mouth runs dry at beomgyu’s accusations.

“sleep with her? beomgyu are you fucking serious? i didn’t even-“

“jesus, she had your sweatshirt on, yeonjun! and both of your hairs were messy as fuck. what else does that mean, huh? i don’t mind at all but you literally could have just told me instead of lying around me,” his voice began to crack, and it was obvious the lump in his throat began to grow bigger as he spoke.

yeonjun could see how easily beomgyu could have played this out. if he were in beomgyu’s place, it would have looked exactly like beomgyu was seeing it. jinae has the same exact gray sweatshirt that yeonjun had. on top of that, it seems like she had just rushed here, her hair being messy under her hood, along with yeonjun with his bed head who had just woken up as well.

it was easy to assume what happened.

“seriously? you think that low of me? for me to bring over a girl and sleep with her while you’re gone?” he bitterly emits a chuckle. “gyu, she has the same fucking sweatshirt as me and her hair was messy because she rushed here. my hair was messy because i literally just woke up. nothing fucking happened.”

beomgyu’s lip quivers, attempting to move but he had nothing to say. “then w-what was she doing here?”

yeonjun clasps his fingers around the back of his neck out of frustration.

there was no way he was going to let beomgyu know about jihyun’s fake dating antics, so he decided to come up with something really quick.

“she came over here to apologize that night of our date. that’s it. i woke up at 2pm, literally the second she knocked on my door, i woke up. i hardly slept last yet without you being here because i was worried, okay? i would not bring someone in the house for a quick fuck while you’re gone, and it’s really upsetting that you would think otherwise.”

“woah, woah... what’s going on in here...” soobin barges in, leaning on the doorway with a startled face.

“nothing. i’m heading out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> listtteennn, i’m sooorryyy.... but i promise you’ll get an explanation of as to why beomgyu is the way he is hehehehe 
> 
> noww couple of questions for the readers: what did u think of jinae??? is she being honest??? and what about taehyun and eunji??? and my goodness will beomjun ever get their shit together?? who knows??? 
> 
> now i’m trying to keep my notes sections short bc i know it bugs a lot of people heheh so hopefully this is better but it u want it to be more interactive let me know!!!! 
> 
> does anyone else miss yeonjun’s blue hair 😔 pls tell me i’m not the only one and comment if u do
> 
> that’s all for this week!! see you next chapter!! <3


	13. something disastrous

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyone how has everyones weeks been??? now this is a bit of a longer chapter... just 5k words bc i felt like it and was in the mood bc i was happy about comeback nearing!! 
> 
> speaking of comeback how excited is everyone for eternity!! 
> 
> now quickkk little side note for this chapter: as mentioned in all my chapters, soobin, yeonjun, and huening kai are all brothers!! so i refer to huening kai as a “choi” here so i’m sorry if that confuses you they are all choi’s in my story!!
> 
> now this one was a bit of a hard chapter to write hahaha 
> 
> with that being said 
> 
> here are today’s set of qotds: 
> 
> 1.) will eternity be your first or second comeback with the boys?? and what are you expecting?? (if this is ur first cb w us hello new moas!!) 
> 
> 2.) i know our boys don’t have any positions, but if you could give them any, what would they be? 
> 
> 3.) of the very few covers that the boys have released, which one is your fav? (mine is probably over and over again or thank u, next) 
> 
> so excited for u guys to read this chapter and please leave ur thoughts it the comments below!! 
> 
> happy reading!! <3

yeonjun then avoids beomgyu that whole night, ignoring his texts and calls, attempting to resist answering and replying to every single one of them. he’s had an exceedingly strong amount of patience for the younger one, but this time seemed to hit him the hardest. beomgyu’s accusations were the last straw, and all of yeonjun’s bottled up anger just spouted out in the midst of their conversation.

later that night, he found beomgyu fast asleep on his side of the bed inside of yeonjun’s room, with what looked like dried up tears on his soft cheeks. all yeonjun wanted to do was wipe them away and hold him in the middle of the night and whisper in his ear that is was going to be okay, but he was tired lying.

instead, yeonjun grabbed his pillow and blanket and wended his way towards the hallway, ambling to beomgyu’s room to make some sort of separation between him and the younger boy. it was beyond obvious that beomgyu spends an insufficient amount of time in his own room, the dust and hard mattress speaking for itself. the mattress hasn’t even been broken into yet, and his desk was collecting dust and debris from not using often.

it was difficult for yeonjun to be separated from beomgyu within the night, though he thought of this as a way to prepare himself when beomgyu begins spending nights with other men that isn’t yeonjun. it’s a practice round, yeonjun supposes.

and although beomgyu seldom visits his room, his room screamed his name in many ways. the simple color scheme radiating in his bedroom was just such a beomgyu color to yeonjun. the guitar he brought back from the philippines after his visit was just such a touch in the empty dull corner of his room. the guitar pick hiding under his chair was as beomgyu as it can get.

every corner and inch yeonjun lied his eyes on, he got reminded of beomgyu. because of course... it was beomgyu’s room. hell, even the aromatic smell of lavender on the pillowcase his head was resting on was a reminder of him.

and that’s when yeonjun was driving himself crazy, unable to get the silver-haired boy out of his mind.

groaning, he peels the blanket off of his body, neatly making beomgyu’s bed before discarding himself from the room that brings him reminders of the only thing that he’s trying to forgot within the moment. he saunters his way towards the living room couch and decides that he’ll find refuge on that just for this night.

he attempts to clear out the memories of his potent dispute with beomgyu, though he can’t seem to just forget about the boy’s accusations. and there was no hiding that he was hurt, but he hates the way it affects him so much. he was dithering about his feelings. he was ambivalent towards the newfound emotions the younger brought upon him. he didn’t know if he was just being dramatic towards the whole situation, or if beomgyu truly did take it too far.

but it isn’t long until yeonjun’s mind can only take too much before it brings itself into exhaustion.

* * *

when yeonjun wakes up the day after, he knows he has a long day ahead of him, that being having dinner with taehyun and eunji. he’s aware of the bad blood between her and beomgyu, and even the peculiar disliking she had towards his younger brother which was insoluble.

so he rises from the couch and folds his blanket, giving himself a moment to stretch out his back which had a rough night from the stiff cushion of the old couch.

he quietly moves his way into his bedroom to find a change of clothes, picking out the slightly fancy ones to at least look presentable in front of taehyun’s childhood best friend. he desperately tries to pull his closet door in the most slick way possible, due to beomgyu who was fast asleep on his bed. and although the younger was the heaviest sleeper known to mankind, yeonjun knew he got cranky once woken up from his slumber.

once he has all his stuff, he takes one last look at the boy who was finding comfort on yeonjun’s bed. he has a pillow clutched tightly to his chest for company, because yeonjun knew that he was unable to sleep without holding something or someone.

and yeonjun wasn’t there for him last night.

after he grabs a change of clothes, he scurries his way into the bathroom and takes a nice quick cold shower before changing into his fit for the day. it was unusual for him to be up before beomgyu. beomgyu always started his day off early to be productive while yeonjun was usually the one sleeping in bed until the afternoon, so this sudden switch of schedules was very unusual to him.

once he does his hair and is finally satisfied with a dinner-worthy outfit, he grabs his phone and keys and tugs his shoes on. before leaving, he runs to the kitchen and picks up a pen and a piece of paper, wavering. he always leaves beomgyu a note on the counter each time he leaves, but this time he stops himself.

instead, he pulls out his phone, wondering if a text would be better this time.

but all he does is ignore the younger’s name, and texts soobin’s number instead.

**yeonjun-hyung <3 **   
_i’m coming over rn to help u guys set up for the dinner tonight. you guys better have cleaned up!!_

* * *

when yeonjun inserts his key into the lock to open the door, he expects to see the same mess last night, uncleared. but to his surprise, the floors are swept, the tables are wiped down clean, the couch pillows are where they’re meant to be, and the apartment is almost spotless.

yeonjun will admit, he’s a bit impressed.

“wow, my two little choi’s... i’m impressed.” he cockily says, dramatically spinning a full 360 to scan around the place. “what slipped into your food last night to make you guys turn into little cleaners. i’ve never seen you guys clean this much...” he says, still in shock to see the apartment spotless.

huening kai was wearing a frown while holding a broom. (a rare moment) while soobin was stood in the kitchen wearing washing gloves while wiping down the counter with spray.

it was definitely a sight worth taking in.

_the two little choi’s cleaning, who would’ve thought?_

“no but really, i thought you guys disliked eunji? so why are you guys trying to perfect the apartment for her?” yeonjun queries, kicking his shoes off before going into the kitchen to assist soobin with cleaning the countertops when he notices that the boy is using windex.

at least he tried.

soobin releases the loudest sigh before sinking into the nearest chair in defeat. “taehyun texted us this morning threatening to let aengdu roam freely out of his cage in the apartment if we didn’t get it ready for the dinner tonight with eunji. so of course, hyuka and i grabbed the nearest cleaning supplies we saw and cleaned the fuck out of this home.” he barely says through a breath, defeated. yeonjun was proud of his little brothers for cleaning, but he did feel a bit awful.

“damn, that kid’s evil...” he says through a chuckle, handing soobin a glass of water. “probably why we get along so well.”

“i’ll start the cooking in about an hour or so and that’ll give us enough time to set everything up. now that you guys already cleaned, that has saved us a whole lot of time so you two go and take a break, shower, and change into something presentable,” he orders the two, while soobin is already rolling his eyes.

yeonjun faintly discerns the way huening kai is hardly even paying attention, dozing off into thin air while keeping his eyes locked into a random item on the floor. the older boy lowers his head to get a better look of his younger brother, attempting to see if he was doing fine. soobin shakes his head and goes back to complaining when he takes a look at huening kai, as if this was his natural behavior and soobin was just unfazed.

“hyuka, come here. you okay?” the older boy voices his concerns.

“god. i seriously think i’m losing it, hyung.” he breaks, swallowing the lump in his throat. “what if i start losing him now that she’s here?”

“hey, i know you’re worried, hyuka. i know,” yeonjun reaches out to him, “but you have to stop thinking of all of this negative shit. i know you guys will move past this, i truly know that you will. but in order for that to happen, you have to step up and so does taehyun. but i need you to stop thinking ahead, okay? look, this is draining you. and i don’t like seeing you like this.” yeonjun’s mouth runs dry once again just at the slight sight of seeing his brother emotionally in pain.

“he’s right, hyuka.” soobin chides one. “i know that this is worrying you but please give yourself time to rest. i don’t like seeing you like this either...” he pouts, hurt by seeing huening kai not as his usual bubbly self.

“fine. i’ll clean my room and take a nap before showering and helping you guys cook,” he slouches, lips tugged downwards into a frown before disappearing into his room.

“you think he’ll be okay, hyung?”

“he’ll be okay, i hope.”

* * *

when huening kai and soobin are all showered and dressed, and once the three of them work on the home cooked meal for dinner, they begin preparing the table and doing last minute clean ups inside of the apartment as taehyun ordered.

it’s an hour before the scheduled time, and to the choi’s surprise, they did an awful good with the food and the cleanup. yeonjun should have given the two a bit more credit and should have had a bit more faith in them because the apartment looked amazing.

as they took a few moments to sit in the kitchen and take a break, they hear keys jingling on the opposite side of the door before beomgyu—who’s dressed in simple but also fancy dinner clothing— walks through the door, with a bitter look on his face.

“what the fuck? you were here the whole time?” he rages, absolutely incensed. his cheeks were red out of anger and his voice trembled as if he’s been stressed for quite a while.

“yeah.” yeonjun bluntly replies, paying no heed towards him.

“and you didn’t bother to take me? or wake me up? or at least fucking tell me? you could have at least answered my texts.” he cries, on the verge of tears, but he did an awful good job of attempting to pull himself together. “you always leave a note on the counter or fridge and i checked to see nothing.”

he sighs in and takes a shaky breath.

“fucking scared the shit out of me.” he says defeated, filled with hurt.

“i was in a rush. i forgot, okay? no need to yell at me.”

yeonjun was being an asshole. he was doing it just to spite beomgyu for the hurtful words he said last night, but even soobin and huening kai were signaling each other with their eyes, slightly offended by yeonjun’s responses. it didn’t sit right with them.

“no need to yell at you? are you joking right now? i went to bed without you, and woke up without you. i was fucking worried and had no clue where you were. you left no note or nothing. you even fucking ignored my texts. so what the fuck was i supposed to think, huh?”

he breaks down in tears.

yeonjun could see how very worried beomgyu was. the shrill in his voice and the shakiness was very unsettling for him to hear. the way he’s breaking down in the middle of the living room was hurting his heart, but he knew it would hurt his ego for him to open his arms right now and forgive him for what he’s done and said.

“i was busy with the boys cooking. i’m sorry, i was hardly on my phone. i didn’t mean to worry you,” he mutters, pressing the tip of his tongue against then wall of his jaw to suppress himself from tearing up at the sight of him hurting.

“well you fucking did. i had to call jihyun to drive me here.”

“of course you did...” he bitterly laughs, not surprised one bit that jihyun was the first person he called.

“who the fuck else was i supposed to call? if anything he’s been more here for me than you have recently, so save your badmouthing for someone who actually wants to hear it.” huening kai begins walking his way towards beomgyu, inchmeal. he guides him towards the couch, and offers him a seat before rubbing his back consolingly.

“okay guys, can we all calm down? taehyun and eunji are coming here in less than thirty minutes and i don’t want to ruin this for him. can we behave ourselves for at least an hour, please?” soobin pleads, desperately trying to hold everyone together. 

yeonjun is shocked. soobin is usually the one who leads all the chaos in the group and is usually the first to start all the antics. so when soobin, out of all people, tells everyone to stay in check and calm down, yeonjun knows something is wrong.

* * *

the dinner table is beyond awkward.

yeonjun is across beomgyu.

taehyun is across huening kai.

and soobin is across eunji.

eunji has already showed signs of not wanting to be there. everyone greeted her at the door, going in for a hug, which she declined. she pretended to forget their names, and even made snarky comments about the type of carpet they had in the apartment.

none of them were having it.

taehyun kept stealing glances at huening kai attempting to scrutinize his features, wondering why his eyes are awfully red and his bags are sunken too deep into his bones.

yeonjun kept an eye on beomgyu who would trap his lower lip in between his teeth every so often to refrain himself from bursting out into tears. it was obvious he wasn’t feeling good about this situation, so he conceals it by keeping his head down and poking at his food.

soobin on the other hand, doesn’t even try to suppress his hatred towards taehyun’s friend. he glares at her every five seconds and rolls her eyes every time she attempts to make a joke that everyone ignores, but taehyun laughs at.

the atmosphere and tension in this room was just not it. it was a highly uncomfortable situation for everyone, and anyone could sense the unneeded tension from miles away.

“oh god, i don’t really like shrimp that much!” she squeals, when she accidentally slips in a piece of seafood into her mouth. “this is kinda awful. tae! i thought you told the boys no seafood,” she giggles, sliding her hand down his arms.

“fuck, sorry i forgot.” he sighs into his hand.

“i don’t think it’s awful. hyung’s cooking is good.” beomgyu voices quietly, holding eye contact with yeonjun across from him. yeonjun knew beomgyu was straight bullshitting. the boy didn’t even like seafood, he was simply just vouching for the older because he knew how hard he worked for the meal.

“anyways, so eunji... what have you been up to?” huening kai tries to initiate the conversation. taehyun wearily looks at huening kai, almost out of pity once he says his first couple of words for the day.

“um i’ve been doing school,” she explains, poking her fork against her food. “i recently moved here to seoul a couple of months ago after living in daegu for the longest while. after i graduate eomma wants me to take over the company, so she wants to train me and have me learn so that i’m ready when it’s passed onto me, but it’s not really what i want,” she says in a dull tone, clearly affected by it as she explains.

“well what do you want?” huening kai questions out of curiosity.

“i tell my parents all the time i want to go to art school and expand my knowledge, y’know. i paint and all and it’s such a passion, i just don’t want to let go of it. and taehyun’s been super helpful with making sure i don’t let go of that,” she smiles, nudging his shoulder while taehyun returns another one of his bright smiles.

yeonjun feels for her. he can’t imagine what it would be like having to do something you don’t like as a career. he can’t imagine having your passion ripped away from you. he can’t imagine having your future planned for you, so yes. he does feel a little remorse towards eunji, because everyone deserves to live their passion. it’s the same thing as saying yeonjun has to live without music. he can’t let go of the only thing he’s passionate about.

“oh, i’m sorry,” huening kai winces at his stupidity of bringing it up. “you shouldn’t have your future planned for you. i’m sorry you’re not getting to fulfill your passions.”

“i mean it’s whatever. i get my way one way or another. i’ll throw a fit or something.” she giggles, and the boys aren’t sure if she’s joking or not.

well there goes yeonjun’s sympathy towards her.

“so uh... what about you guys? what’s up with y’all?” she looks around before bringing a shrimp into her mouth. not long after, she gags, spitting the shrimp into a piece of tissue, and yeonjun is highly offended. this will be the last time he cooks for her.

when no one answers, her eyes deadpans onto yeonjun. “yeonjun-oopa, what about you? you still do music or something?” she questions, while licking her lips in attempts to get the fishy taste off. yeonjun can tell it’s not a genuine question and she’s only trying to be polite.

“uh yeah... i play gigs here and there. busy with school though,” he replies, attempting to keep his answers short since he knows she’d barely pay any heed towards his answers anyways.

“soobin-oopa?” she quirkily smiles, waiting for his response.

“um i’ve been busy with school too. working on my writing a lot...” he says in the most uninterested tone ever.

“oh, that’s right! you write! and i remember you being awfully good at it...” she recalls, and even though soobin wants nothing more than for her to leave, his heart jumps at the little compliment.

yeonjun knew about eunji’s mysterious disliking towards his little brother, so it’s no shock that she doesn’t question and check up on huening kai if there was anything new in his life, the way she did with yeonjun and soobin. and he was also aware that ever since eunji wrongly accused beomgyu of having a crush on taehyun, the two always disliked each other, so it’s also not a shock to him when she barely even acts like beomgyu exists.

“okay, well! i cant keep it in i’ll just say it, oh my god!” she squeals once again, causing yeonjun to grab his ear in pain, discreetly. her comment made all of the four other boys look at each other in confusion.

“eunji, uh not yet. i think we’re still eating...” taehyun nervously chuckles, and yeonjun grows overly suspicious at his sudden actions.

eunji rolls her eyes, not wanting to be at the dinner table, or the apartment in general.

it isn’t long until yeonjun notices that taehyun’s and eunji’s fingers are interlaced under the table, and they probably have been for a long time. pretending to drop his fork, yeonjun crouched down to pick it up, seeing as taehyun is even rubbing delicate circles around the back of her hand, the same way yeonjun does to beomgyu. as he crouched down, the two’s fingers immediately detach from each other’s.

yeonjun doesn’t know if he’s happy or not.

“c’mon, taehyun! you know you only dragged me here to announce this. i had other plans tonight and you’re dragging this out too long,” she complains and sinks in her chair.

“yeah, okay. i guess we can,” he whispers lowly, loud enough for everyone to hear.

huening kai suddenly tenses in his seat, sitting up straight and gives them his full attention when taehyun’s aura begins to change. the youngest looks severely alarmed, like his heart is about to pop out of his chest.

“well, guys!” she shrieks, bringing hers and taehyun’s interlaced hands out from under the table. “taehyunnie and i are dating!” she announces in a high pitched tone, clearly excited by the announcement.

taehyun’s supposed to look happy.

but somehow, his smile looks feigned.

“w-what?” huening kai is the first one to react.

“yeah!” taehyun admits, “i mean, we’ve been texting since like four months ago which is when we first got back into contact but when i visited her for the first time a couple of days ago, i finally asked her to be my girlfriend!” he smiles, his beautiful dimples popping out, and this time he actually seems happy.

“w-wow...” huening kai lets out, which seemed to be more of a thought to himself. “i’m so happy for you tae! oh my god, finally...” he chuckles, putting his best fake smile on, fooling nobody but taehyun. “god. he’s been gushing over you for the longest.”

“congrats, guys...” beomgyu and yeonjun say in complete unison, causing them to lock eyes.

“thank you so much, you two!” eunji blows air kisses their way while scooting closer towards taehyun’s arms. “and by the way, congratulations to you guys too. i knew you two love birds would end up together. ever since we were young i already knew how much of a power couple you’d be!”

yeonjun is confused for a second, ready to deny the allegations, and it isn’t until he remember this fake dating thing he has with beomgyu. taehyun had probably accidentally slipped it out that the two were dating, so this was yet another person they had to lie about their relationship to.

“thank you, eunji. that’s super sweet. i’m happy for you guys too.” beomgyu forces through a tight lipped smile, lacking sincerity.

the atmosphere was too much for yeonjun.

he knew it’d be selfish of him to excuse himself and leave, but this was just not working out of him. he feels the air getting tighter in this room, and he’ll suffocate if he stays any longer. it was extremely unfair to huening kai as well, who was probably hurting the most, but there was no way he’d be able to stand one more second in this room.

“guys, i had fun but i just forgot that i have to tutor someone tonight and i just got a text! i’m so sorry, but i think i have to get going...” he packs up, tugging on his sweater. “eunji it was so nice seeing you again! i’m wishing you and taehyun well on your relationship.”

“thank you, take care.”

* * *

“sorry, this is all we had left at the cafe. it’s mine, but you can have it if you want. if you texted me earlier i would have made you something really quick before closing the store. ” jinae gives yeonjun a half drunken iced americano before taking a seat across from him.

“i’m fine, thanks. i just needed someone to talk to.”

yeonjun didn’t know where to run to.

beomgyu was usually his getaway whenever something disastrous happened, but this time that something disastrous was beomgyu. and he didn’t know what led his thumb to hover over her name, but before he knew it, he was sending her a text asking her for company.

“i’m, sorry... feel free to stop me if i’m getting this wrong,” she squints at him in confusion before letting her hair down from that messy ponytail she had on from working. “but your brother huening kai likes his best friend taehyun... but he came tonight with his other childhood best friend and confessed that they are now dating... which then, leaves your little brother heartbroken. and to add on, your boyfriend beomgyu is upset and angry with you because he assumed that we slept together... so now you and beomgyu’s are fighting, and huening kai and taehyun are fighting, leaving your other brother soobin stuck in the middle?” she motions her hands to help her keep track of the situation that yeonjun explained, and damn was she a good listener.

“yup, you basically said it all,” he sighs, lying his head down in the table before releasing the loudest groan.

“aw, sweetie. i’m so sorry, that’s a lot,” she coos, giving yeonjun a nice little hair ruffle before offering anything she can do. “do you want me to explain to your boyfriend that nothing happened? cause honestly i have no problem with doing that. i’m so sorry that i came at a bad time...” jinae offers, feeling awful for being the center of their fight.

“no, no... that’s not the problem at all, it’s not your fault. i just want my boyfriend to trust me and to not assume shit so quickly, y’know?” he cries as jinae very quickly brings a napkin to his eyes to rid the tears.

“yeah... i get that a lot. you feel that he doesn’t trust you... but maybe it’s not that, yeonjun. maybe he just has trust issues and finds it hard. or maybe he hasn’t had good experiences with relationships so he’s very cautious.” she says all while drying yeonjun’s tears. “look, i don’t know your boyfriend that well, but just by that double date, which i’m still sorry about,” she giggles as she recalls the memory, “i could tell how very much in love he is with you. he cares about you, so much, yeonjun. and he’s probably just been hurt before. just give him some time.”

yeonjun is wondering where jinae has been all his life. she is the motherly, comforting friend that he’s been needing this whole time, so why did it take so long for her to come into his life?

“and as for your little brother and the taehyun thingy, i’m so sorry. i’d be completely heartbroken too. i remember being in high school all gushy over my feelings and shit. tell huening kai, if he ever visits the cafe, he can get as much as free heartbreak coffees that he wants,” she winks, causing yeonjun to slightly smile.

“you are so different from the person i first met. you’re nothing like her. you’re really sweet, jinae. i’m so glad we met even though you were rude as hell at first,” he chuckles, causing her to shove him nearly out of his seat.

“hey! how many times do i have to say i’m sorry!” she laughs, pretending to fake cry by yeonjun’s words.

“no, but really. thank you.” he thanks her, getting up and giving her a hug for being a listener.

“anytime, choi.” she says, tossing a rag over her shoulder.

* * *

yeonjun kicks off his shoes, not expecting beomgyu to be waiting for him on the couch, with tears around his eyes.

“i saw you’re location. you were at the cafe.”

“yeah... i was,” yeonjun says in a matter-of-factly tone.

“she works there, doesn’t she?” he monotonously says, eyes afraid to look at yeonjun’s.

“are you talking about jinae? because if you are, then yes she does. and yes i did visit her there because i needed someone to talk to. and no i did not have a quick fuck with her like you wrongly assumed. she’s my friend. and she listens. i can be friends with a girl without fucking her,” yeonjun spits with a bit of bitterness behind his tone. he finds it difficult to get over the nasty accusations beomgyu had towards him.

“look, i’m sorry. okay?” he apologizes, not even attempting to stop himself from crying because yeonjun always made him comfortable enough to let him show his vulnerabilities. “i don’t know why the fuck i said that. i was just— fuck i don’t know. i was stupid for thinking you’d ever do that. i was angry and let it take over me. yeonjun-hyung, i’m so sorry if i ever made you feel like i don’t trust you. ever since... ever since what happened, i always get so cautious and i know you’d never do that to me but i was afraid.”

beomgyu looked so empty. he looked so hurt and afraid, and yeonjun finally realizes the problem.

“look, i’m so fuckin hurt, gyu. so fucking hurt. and the fact that you even assumed that i would bring a girl in our apartment to have a quick fuck is beyond me. i would never do that to you. i would never,” his tone is full of hurt as he takes a seat next to beomgyu.

“you have to realize, beomgyu, that not everyone is going to be like him, okay? he hurt you. he gave you a reason not to trust him, and that was in the past. you’re out of that now,” brushing hair out of his face, yeonjun wipes his tear. “but me? i never gave you a reason to not trust me... and you accusing me of doing something like that really hurt. i know we’re not dating in real life and this is all just fake, but if this were real, i would never trade you for anyone the way that he did. i would never hurt you the way that he did, beomgyu.”

a tear slips down yeonjun’s cheek before pulling his hands away from the younger one.

“and it hurt me that you think i ever would.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okayyyy nowww i know that was a lot so hehe i’m so sorrry but hopefully you’re all doing okayyy!! what did you guys think??? 
> 
> what do y’all think about jinae?? is she being truthful??? and beomjun... are they almost there??? and omg poor tyunning... do u think they’ll be endgame??? 
> 
> ^^idk i provide these questions bc it’s so much fun seeing everyone’s theories!! 
> 
> what did u guys think of this chapter??? as u can see the angst is building up hahah but i promise there will b fluff in there somewhere.... it’s just a longgg wayyy 
> 
> and can we PLEASE talk about the CANT YOU SEE ME TEASERS????? holy fuck the music for soobin’s teaser i will literally cry and all the boys are just so pretty🥺
> 
> also, remember a couple of chapters ago when i told bighit to give us soobin’s purple hair back??? well they did so everyone go comment PURPLE HAIRED SOOBIN SUPERIOR heheh 
> 
> also if anyone tweets ab my book i always took at the tag or look at tweets with the link of my book in it!!! and plesseeee feel free to drop your twts if you want!!! 
> 
> pls feel free to let me know your thought about this chapter and if this length was okay
> 
> that’s all for this week!
> 
> see you next week <3


	14. oh... okay, cool

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helllooo everyone!!! 
> 
> quick little note: i changed my user to ‘magichour’ and i was previously ‘whorific’ what do u guys think??? idk if it’s final or whatever but i just wanted a user more tying to txt and ik they say magic hour in run away so i just thought it was cute hehe
> 
> now moving onto the chapter, ugh sorry guys i’m a little disappointed with this one i feel as if it’s short and boring and more of a filler but hopefully it’s not too bad :/ i’m sorry sorry about this chapter 
> 
> also DO NOT freak out but I TOOK OUT A TAG so let me know if u spot what tag i took out lol
> 
> and who is excited for comeback!!! oh my god not long nooowwwww 
> 
> with that being said, 
> 
> here are today’s set of qotd’s!: 
> 
> 1.) by the titles and previews, which eternity song first caught your attention? (mine was drama)  
2.) what are you hoping for hearing in the next comeback? (more lines for beomgyu and rapper taehyun pls)  
3.) i know we’ve only heard a snippet of can’t you see me, but of all the three title tracks, which is your fav? 
> 
> *IMPORTANT*  
PLEASE READ THE END NOTES ABOUT MY NEW TXT WORK I AM DEBATING ON PUBLISHING! I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR OPINIONS!! 
> 
> happy reading ! <3

yeonjun feels empty once again driving to university with no one beside him at 8 in the morning, screaming obnoxious lyrics at the ass crack of dawn. only beomgyu had enough energy to be so lively in the morning, bringing yeonjun’s mood up as well. he feels even more emptier when he does his and beomgyu’s daily coffee shop visit. it was _their_ coffee shop. of course, it’s not as they owned it to be exact, but every detail inside that shop reminded yeonjun of beomgyu. it was the coffee shop where beomgyu tried his first espresso shot, (hating it) where they pulled all their all-nighters for finals, where they had fights over whose coffee is whose, where they go hunting for cute guys, where they rate customer’s outfits from one to ten, but most of all it was their hangout spot.

something was amiss when yeonjun steps foot inside the coffee shop without beomgyu by his side.

and for the second time, he mistakenly orders two iced americanos, getting so used to the routine of ordering beomgyu a drink as well, that it hardly even slips yeonjun’s mind that he’ll only be needing to order one today.

cursing to himself, he spent double of what he was supposed to and suddenly craves for soobin’s presence who would so gladly inhale the iced americano within a second.

but he was lonely today.

no soobin today.

or beomgyu.

he takes extra slow strides, because everything today just seemed so slow, so it wouldn’t kill him to let things go by slower anyways. he keeps his eyes glued on the floor watching his shoes find its way towards the school’s cafe, silently hoping and praying that the last person he has hope for is there.

taking a seat, he glances around for a couple of minutes to see if his eye catches the person he is so desperately needing the attention of. when three songs pass by in his airpods, he feels a sudden tap on his shoulder causing him to quickly whip his head behind him.

“hey, sad face,” she pouts, pulling out a chair next to him and making herself comfortable. “anything i could help with today?” she groans, taking her hair out of the ponytail that it was just placed in.

yeonjun attempts to smile a bit for her, indolently raising the tips of his lips upwards in attempt to create a fake smile but all that ever does is gives her a chance to read him better. “hm, not really. just company i guess.” he says through a sigh. “i got you an iced americano by the way.”

he pushes the cold iced americano towards her direction, feeling wrong as he gives it to someone other than beomgyu._ it was just coffee, yeonjun get yourself together._

“you sweet boy,” she smiles at him, and yeonjun wonders how a person other than beomgyu can be so jovial at this time of morning. “i’m pretty sure this was for your boyfriend though because there’s no way you would have known that i would have sat down but thank you anyways, sweetheart.”

the sweet little pet names jinae gives to yeonjun warms his heart. not in the same way when beomgyu does it, but in more of a comforting way. jinae just tended to act more motherly and protective over him, platonically.

“dudeee, i fucking misss himmm...” yeonjun groans, burying his head into the cafe table, and going even further. he should probably be concerned about the amount of bacteria on the surface of the wood, but he could give two less shits when the person he adores the most is fighting with him.

“oh, honey... i know...” jinae pouts, comforting him the way his mother used to do when he would cry about receiving bad grades on tests. “i know fighting with your boyfriend is hard, i’m so sorry,” she consolingly comforts, ruffling yeonjun’s hair.

“listen... if it makes you feel better, i saw your boyfriend pull up right before i sat down next to you and he looks completely hurt and upset as well. jihyun was next to him though...” she whispers, holding a hand by the side of her mouth to emphasize that she was telling him a secret.

yeonjun glares at her, “jinaeeee...” he cries, “how is that supposed to make me feel better? you just told me that my boyfriend was hurt and upset. how is that supposed to make me feel betteerrrr,” he semi-yells at her, trying to act upset but his tone lacks any true conviction.

“okay, okay, i’m sorry....” she panics, unknowing of what to do in this situation. she emulates the panic of a nanny when a baby begins to cry, and is unaware of what to do to make it stop. she feels exactly like that. “i’m sorry, yeonjun-oppa. i’m sorry.”

“hm, you know... i’m still a little shocked by you.” he runs his thumbs under his eyes to get rid of the wet patches. “you were so mean that night and acted so rude but you’re actually so sweet. that is... unless you’re conspiring a little attack against me,” he facetiously accuses, slipping in a smirk.

“look... how many times do i have to tell you, i was only bitchy and acted that way because i was really trying to just piss jihyun off and ruin his night for making me do that stupid shit, which i still feel awful for. but i apologized, yeonjun-ah, come on! how many more times, dude,” she complains, shrinking deep into her hoodie just at the memory of her being rude to the boys. “and by the way, i’m not homophobic at all. i just put up that dumb image to piss all of you off.” she begins to giggle, recalling her dumb-girl facade. “i’m a good actor, huh? what do you think?”

“uh, yeah... you are. you made me so angry that day, dude,” he gives her head a little push to show his annoyance. “but you and jihyun... are you guys like, close or something?” he chews on his bottom lip out of curiosity.

jinae rolls her eyes before releasing a loud sigh. “it’s so complicated,” she rubs her temples. “my parents and jihyun’s are super close so we’ve known each other for a while. he does a lot of shit for me, and i mean a lot. he used to drive me to university ever day before i got my license,he helped me get this job at the cafe, and he even beat up my boyfriend for cheating on me, so i felt bad rejecting his offer y’know... he did a lot for me so i felt awful not returning the favor.”

“ah... yeah, i see. that makes sense, but are you guys like close in the sense of friendship?”

jinae rolls her eyes again.

“um... not really, i guess? i mean we’ve known each other since we were young because of our parents, but it’s usually just that, ‘i do things for you and you do things for me’ kinda shit. he’s not really that type of person that i see myself hanging with. like, you’ve seen how quick he goes from person to person and you’ve seen how careless he is. i even had to yell at him to stay away from your boyfriend, which again, i’m still very sorry for and he wouldn’t listen. but i guess at the end of the day i still sorta care for him...”

yeonjun chuckles at this woman’s way of words. “really? ‘sorta care for him?’ jesus, jinae-ah.” he tries to suppress his laughter at how careless she was towards him.

“what!” she exclaims defensively, her voice raising an octave or two. “it’s fucking true, bro! sometimes i just want to punch him but i can’t because my parents love him so i just keep my distance.”

yeonjun furrows his eyebrows, “well then why do you stick around him so much if he’s not even a good friend? you don’t have to keep doing shit for him, y’know...”

jinae’s sudden expression drops from a jovial one to a sunken in one. “i mean, i kinda do have to... that asshole has something blackmailed against me and threatens to tell my parents shit so, yeah...” she attempts to remain calm and act as if it’s not a big deal, but yeonjun could clearly tell that it is.

“fucking asshole... i’ll run his shit right now if you want,” he says through gritted teeth.

“no, no. sit down. it’s fine.”

“look, you don’t have to tell me right now what this blackmailing shit is, but you know you can trust me, right? you can tell me anything now.” he reaches over to grab her hand, in which she very quickly finds comfort in.

“i know, yeonjun. thank you.”

as yeonjun tries to somewhat ease the poor girl’s stress, he rubs circles on top of her hand the same way he would do to beomgyu every time he feels like he’s under stress. he’s a bit clueless as to what he should do next. he’s never had to comfort a nearly-crying woman so it’s not necessarily his forte.

when he looks up, he hardly even notices a blonde hovering over his and jinae’s table, furrowing her eyebrows in deep confusion while holding an extremely betrayed face.

“yeonjun-oopa?”

it was the blonde from the grocery store.

he never caught her name.

“oh, i came here to ask you a question, but i can’t help but notice, are you and beomgyu broken up perhaps?” she fiddles with her camera. yeonjun’s seen her around enough to know that she was a photography major, but hadn’t spoken to her enough to know her name, other than that one time in the grocery.

“i don’t know, i couldn’t help but notice you and jinae holding hands across the table while beomgyu is sat over there on the other side with jihyun,” she points all the way across the room, and he doesn’t even notice that beomgyu is in the same room with jihyun on a separate table.

jinae is the first to rip her hand away from yeonjun and she elongates her neck to search for beomgyu and jihyun, who they hadn’t even known walked into the cafeteria.

“oh, no! no, we’re doing fine,” yeonjun is quick to wipe out her assumptions. “i’m just talking to jinae because she’s a close friend of mine and she’s going through a really rough patch right now. she just broke up with her boyfriend,” yeonjun attempts to wink at her to signify and have her go along with the plan, and she is quick to catch on.

“yeah, he broke up with me over text, so yeonjun-oppa offered me some comfort.” she fake cries, blowing her nose into a tissue, immersed in her role.

“and beomgyu has a project with jihyun so they’re working on it over there.” he points to the other side of the room, and his blood begins to boil a bit when he realizes how close jihyun is to beomgyu. he isn’t appreciating jihyun’s arms around beomgyu either. it was unnecessary.

“oh that’s relieving!” she clutches her chest in relief when yeonjun debunks her sudden accusation.

“by the way, i’m jen.” she smiles, holding her hand out for yeonjun to shake. “i really quickly just wanted to ask you and beomgyu if you wanted to be the subject of my project? i know it’s a lot to ask but i just thought you’d be a perfect subject. i have to do a photography shoot and the theme is friendships and/or relationships and you and beomgyu just seemed to click in my mind. i know you guys have been friends for the longest and just recently started dating, which by the way, everyone has been waiting for, and everyone loves you two on campus so i was just wondering if you would let me shoot you two?” she continuously threads her sentences longer, a nervous habit. her voices edges a few times, nervous at having to approach yeonjun.

“oh?” he tilts his head in confusion while jinae gives him an astounding smile at the suggestion. “that’s sounds amazing, yeah. it sounds great, but do you want to walk over and ask beomgyu too? we’d be happy to help you.” he gets up out of his chair, while jen follows.

“you too, airhead. you can come,” he tells jinae, who then sticks her tongue out at yeonjun’s nickname.

walking across the cafeteria to where beomgyu and jihyun where settled at, his heart begins thumping when he hits the sudden realization that he needs to continue to fake-act and attempt to seem as if he and beomgyu were indeed dating. it was going to be heavily awkward, especially after their fight.

“baby, hey.” yeonjun breaks the space between beomgyu and jihyun, taking a seat in the middle. he pecks the corner of beomgyu’s mouth, almost wholly touching his lips.

it’s crazy how just twenty minutes ago he was crying to jinae about beomgyu, but now he has to push all of that aside and act like nothing happened.

“oh. hi, bub.” beomgyu is taken aback by not just yeonjun, but by the company of jen and jinae as well. nonetheless, he is quick to reciprocate the touch and peck his cheek right back. “what’s up?”

“sooo....” he begins wrapping his arms around beomgyu’s waist for emphasis that they’re dating as if the clingy kisses weren’t enough. “jen here wants us to be the subject of her photography project and the theme is about friendship and/or relationships. she thinks we’d be a really fitting subject. what do you think, babe?”

beomgyu seems as if he’s about to hesitate, but the desperate look on jen’s face brings him to feel guilty just a bit. he’ll admit, when he spotted her at the grocery store attempting to flirt with yeonjun, his blood boiled, but he understood the struggles and frustrations of finding the perfect subject for a project, and he felt awful turning her down.

“oh, of course. yeah, that seems cool! but hyung and i aren’t models and we mess around too much so i’m sorry if we’re gonna be a little difficult to shoot.” he laughs, burying his head into the crook of yeonjun’s shoulder and he’s never missed the feeling so much.

“oh that’s totally fine! i also have to take some candid shots, so during the day if you see me following you two around with a camera, please pay no heed. i want to capture shots of you guys naturally, if that’s okay with you.” she explains, and yeonjun grows a bit nervous knowing that they’d be getting pictures of them taken not knowing.

they really had to be careful now.

“yeah, of course. i’m down,” beomgyu intertwines his fingers with yeonjun, and yeonjun is a bit shocked. they were holding hands under the table, it’s not as if they were showing it to anyone. this was strictly just for them.

“look, i’m gonna get going now because i have a class but here’s my number and let me know your availabilities! thank you so much for doing this,” she slaps a paper onto the surface of the table before speeding off.

after she leaves, the tension between yeonjun and jihyun, and jinae and beomgyu was a bit too thick.

jinae could not take the glares beomgyu was throwing her way.

“yeahhh... ima get going now. i have a class. i’ll text you later, yeonjun-oopa.”

* * *

yeonjun arrives at their apartment much later than beomgyu did. yeonjun knew beomgyu’s schedule from the top of his head and he knew that the boy only had one class for the day, leading him to come home much earlier than yeonjun. yeonjun knows that jihyun was beomgyu’s form of transportation which is a bit unsettling in his stomach. he gets somewhat possessive over his best friend.

but when he opens the door, apparently it’s a party.

soobin was in the kitchen rummaging the pantry for some snacks, huening kai was on the table trying to do his homework, and taehyun was sat comfortably on the couch with eunji watching a movie with beomgyu third-wheeling on the couch.

he knows that now that eunji’shere, he’d have no break trying to fulfill this fake-dating facade that he puts up for more than half of the day. his plan for the day was to ignore beomgyu and not speak to him, but knowing eunji’s nosy ass, she’s make a comment about it and grow suspicious as to why the _most clingy couple_ isn’t being as clingy as they usually are.

“oh, hey guys. hi eunji,” he greets them, tugging his shoes off at the entrance.

“hi, baby.” he leans down, pecking beomgyu’s forehead who was sat next to eunji. from the corner of his eyes, he could see soobin and huening kai at the back laughing at the sudden action yeonjun initiated with beomgyu.

“i missed you,” he whispers, and for some reason, yeonjun feels as if beomgyu weren’t playing along with the fake dating scheme this time. the_ i miss you_ in his voice sounded far too genuine.

“god, you guys are cute.” eunji squeals, smiling at their cuteness, and yeonjun could feel soobin mocking her in the kitchen.

“hi, hyung. sorry eunji was just leaving in like 5 minutes. she’s just waiting for her uber to arrive.” taehyun smiles at yeonjun, and it’s a smile that yeonjun can never be upset with.

“oh, it’s fine! wish you could stay longer,” he lies through his teeth, but deep inside he’s celebrating her departure.

yeonjun goes inside his bedroom to get changed, wincing at the pain of having to tenderly kiss beomgyu without meaning. it was draining him emotionally. it wasn’t fun anymore.

when he’s in the middle of tugging a shirt on,his door slowly creeks open, revealing beomgyu who is hanging his head low almost as if he was too shy to approach yeonjun.

“come in,” he says softly.

“um...” he gnaws on his lower lip. “before you get upset at taehyun for letting eunji in without permission, i told them to come over this morning after i came from my class because i got lonely. and then soobin-hyung got lonely so he came too. and then hyuka came over after school because he needed help with homework.” he quietly plays with his fingers while yeonjun throws his dirty clothes in the laundry.

“oh... okay, cool.” he replies dryly. he knows it’ll irritate beomgyu, which is why he wants to make it seem like he hardly cares.

“look, can we talk, hyung?” he tilts his head, wincing at the question.

“we’re talking right now, aren’t we?” he mentions in a smart-assed tone which only upsets beomgyu. “we talked last night, gyu. look, can we just give each other fucking space for a second? it’s draining me how we’re fighting inside these apartment walls but the second i step foot out of it, i have to hold you and kiss you like it’s nothing.”

“i’m sorry. i just hate being away from you for this long.” he whispers, the hurt in his voice hindering behind his throat.

“well then, we need a bit of space. for a few days, i guess? i don’t know. this is just all too much for me right now,” he says, walking past beomgyu out through his door and into the living room.

when he walks out, he sees taehyun bidding his goodbyes to eunji at the door, placing a delicate soft kiss onto her lips. she waves her goodbyes to all of the boys before taehyun shuts the door behind her. yeonjun’s first instinct is to turn his head towards his younger brother to see how uncomfortable it was for him to see that. it was obvious he was hurting.

“okay, i really can’t stand this right now so can at least one pair of you apologize to each other and make up? it’s so tiring seeing all four of you feuding, seriously.” soobin complains, shoving chips into his mouth to aid his worries.

“i’m not gonna do it.” yeonjun is quick to say that beomgyu almost looks too offended.

“i mean i would, but he doesn’t know how to communicate his feelings...” taehyun sassily says, striking one of huening kai’s nerves.

beomgyu’s eyes widen at taehyun’s words.

“i don’t know how to communicate my feelings? are you serious? i told you that it was never about the snake in the first place, and it was because i felt excluded in your life and the second i said that you walked out and left because you couldn’t handle the truth. and the next thing i fucking know is that you replace me with your old best friend and all of a sudden she’s your girlfriend! how the fuck do you expect me to react? you never communicated any of that to me and all of a sudden you wanna speak about communication. thats fucking rich,” he slams his homework against the table and bites on his tongue until he nearly tastes metal.

“hyuka, calm down. it’s okay.” beomgyu rushes to his side to comforts him and yeonjun cannot thank him enough.

“god, why the fuck does it matter who i date! it’s not like we’re together or anything, holy shit. my love life has nothing to do with you.”

the room goes dead silent.

“you’re right, it doesn’t.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> formal formal formal apology for publishing the most boring chapter of this book yet. i truly am sorry but just wanted to get something out there and didn’t want to keep you guys hanging 
> 
> alsoooo what do you guys think of my new user??? i might change it but i find it so cute hehe pls give me new user suggestions bc i want it to be more txt related 
> 
> nooowww what did u guys think so far??? everything is messy. new thoughts about jinae?? will tyunning be endgame??? future predictions??? 
> 
> *IMPORTANT*  
now this is something i’ve been wanting to do for a while, but i wanted to write a kinda-short angst oneshot and was thinking of publishing it. i know u all are beomjun readers but i was thinking of it being a taegyu angst so please let me know is this is one thing you’d be interested in reading!!! if u are not an angst reader DO NOT read it hehe if this is something you’d be interested in, please let me know! 
> 
> and againnn i’m sorry for this chapter it makes me wanna barf lol bc it’s so poorly written and boring but again it’s a slow burn hehe 
> 
> see you next week! <3


	15. cvs trips

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helloooo everyone!!! how are you all enjoying the comeback??? oh my goodness i am in tears so CAN WE PLEASEEE talk about the comeback in the comments hehe i’m so happy 
> 
> okay now to be honest, i have been distracted with comeback lately so i kinda forgot today was my updating day and i wrote all of this earlier at 5am. usually i write it within the week so that i don’t procrastinate on the last day i’m sorry if this seems sloppy and rushed i was distracted the whole week with the boys! my apologies! i promise the next chapter will be better 
> 
> ALSOOO!! thank u for everyone supporting my book i just saw that "i know it hurts (cause i feel it too) is currently #12 on the beomjun tag!! thats so crazy oh my god i know its not that much but idk why it made me so happy hahaha i know the rank changes quite a bit but being in the top 20 books is so cool so thank u!!!!
> 
> here are today’s set of qotds!: 
> 
> 1.) what is your favorite dream chapter album? 
> 
> 2.) favorite track from the new album? 
> 
> 3.) favorite lyric in eternity? 
> 
> *IMPORTANT*  
please check the ending notes to see info about my taegyu one shot that i am debating on publishing! 
> 
> that is all, i hope you all have a happy reading!!

huening kai is chewing on his bottom lip, attempting to refrain his last bit of crystal tears from rolling down his cheeks. he doesn’t know why he’s crying to be frank, it’s not like anything of what taehyun said was a lie. in fact, it was completely true. huening kai truly did have nothing to do with taehyun’s love life, so maybe that’s why he was crying.

maybe he wanted to have everything to do with it.

but he was crying at an inopportune moment. because in about less than two hours, he had to be on stage at his music showcase at school to perform a couple of sets. he had been belaboring about this very day for the past two months, complaining about being under a lot of pressure. don’t get him wrong, he loves music, it’s all he’s ever known, but something about playing more than three instruments and singing in front of more than 200 people the day after a nasty fight with his best friend was very unsettling.

everyone was busy today.

he wishes all of his brothers and friends could come watch him play his last high school recital, but college schedules are just too tight to interfere with his. when his brothers told him they couldn’t come, he was obviously upset, but they made him promise to record it so that they can all watch it later that night. the boys were like huening kai’s number one fans. but he wasn’t too bummed out because taehyun _promised_ to come watch him. he promised. he even said that he would take huening kai to eat anywhere he chooses, using his own wallet.

and maybe that’s why huening kai wasn’t too bummed.

hesitantly hovering his thumb over taehyun’s name, he hinders back and forth with himself deciding whether he should take the call of not. usually, walking five steps to his room would have been the easier route, but taehyun hasn’t been staying at their apartment for the past few days. not after he got his new girlfriend.

taehyun picks after four rings.

_“what?”_

_“o-oh... hi... i uh— i um...”_

_“huening kai, what is it? i’m super busy right now.”_

_“sorry... i just was wondering— um, i was wondering if you were still—“_

_“babe who’s that? do you have everything to go?”_

_“sorry, that was eunji. i’m actually not going to school today because i promised to take her out to do something special. we’re in a bit of a rush, so seriously what did you need?”_

_“o-oh... nevermind. i just was gonna ask you to borrow your notes for today because i didn’t do it, but someone else let me borrow theirs. hope you guys have fun.”_

and before huening kai could say their usual “i love you‘s” taehyun hung up the phone and the line went dead.

he crouches down in the corner of his room, hugging his knees to his chest while he pressing his forehead against the tops of his knees. he doesn’t know why he’s so hurt about this but taehyun knew how special this was to him. he knew how bad huening kai wanted to be the lead of the music show ever since he was a freshman, and yet he forgot to attend one of the most important days of his high school experience.

yeonjun, soobin, and beomgyu offered numerous times to ditch their classes just that one day, so that they could watch huening kai perform, but huening kai greatly declined the kind offer because he refused to be a burden on their shoulders. and right after the boys told him that he wasn’t in fact a burden, and that they’d miss anything just to watch him play, huening kai still insisted on them going to their classes and in turn, offered to record it for them instead so they could watch it in the hyung’s apartment later that night.

but this time, he wished they’d come.

his bedroom door busts open.

“hyuka,? are you all ready for your performance because you have to be there—oh my god, what happened bub? what’s wrong?” beomgyu quickly rushes to the corner of the room where huening kai is at before crouching down to console the crying boy.

“hyuka, what happened love? is something wrong?” he whispers, stroking his hair to ease the boy’s silent cries.

“t-taehyun... f-forgot...” he tries to slip out, choking on his two words.

“taehyun forgot?” beomgyu repeats after him. “what the fuck do you mean he forgot? you guys have been talking about this for the past two months. there’s no way.” beomgyu attempts to keep his tone calm in fear of scaring off the younger one, but it was awfully hard to do so when all he wanted to do at the moment was curse out his best friend for forgetting such an important day.

“h-he said, he w-was ditching s-school... to take e-eunji out somewhere s-special...” huening kai’s heart winces just at the thought of having to repeat it.

“what could have possibly been more special than today? hyuka, i know how important this was for you, and i know none of us could go but i’m skipping class today and i’m gonna ask soobin-hyung if he could do the same because we’re gonna watch you perform. i’m not too sure about yeonjun-hyung because he has finals today so i’m not sure if he could miss that but i promise you i’m going.” beomgyu drops his backpack and chucks it to the side, abandoning all of his classes for the day.

“no, i don’t want you to miss—“

“i don’t care. because i’m going. i’m not going to miss this for the world. are you kidding?” he attempts to smile through his tears, being in immense pain watching someone who he considered as a little brother, cry. “now go get fixed up and grab your instruments because we have to leave in a few.”

while huening kai obeys beomgyu’s words, the silver-haired boy pulls out his phone to shoot yeonjun a text message.

**love 💞**   
_hey, i’m not going to any of my classes today bc i found hyuka crying this morning. apparently taehyun forgot about today and now no ones there to watch him so i’m skipping today. i’m gonna try asking soobin-hyung too but we’ll see. i know you have finals today at the time of his show but if you could make it, i’m sure he’d love it. _

* * *

soobin and beomgyu were seated in the front row, straight center, and applauded huening kai when it was the end of the show. he did an awful great job at leading his team throughout it all and the boys could see how much of a great leader he was towards the band. they never knew the most immature one out of their friend group possessed such great leadership skills.

beomgyu and soobin had to bribe the ticket box boy with a couple more dollars and a hershey’s bar in able to be seated straight in the center of front row, but they wouldn’t have changed it for the world because huening kai did amazing. they wished everyone was there to see it.

he had four sets, and two solos in the group performances and the amount of stage presence he was able to hold up there was astounding. the stage was huening kai’s home. he belonged to the stage. he was made for the stage. beomgyu knew if yeonjun were here to see this, he’d be so proud. huening kai’s performance showed so much. he could see all the hard work the younger boy put into this whole show, and he could tell how much the band mates adored him. everyone adored him.

huening kai and the rest of the band took their last bow, before the stage lights clear out, and the regular lights flip on, signifying that the showcase was over.

beomgyu and soobin were waiting for huening kai to bid his goodbyes, though all his band mates just completely rushed to him and congratulated him. many were handing him flowers and bouquets while the other handed him small gift bags. his band mates adored him so much.

“hyung, thank you so much for guiding us for the past two months. god, i was so nervous! but you helped us so much, thank you.” a young one says. he looks like a freshman at least, and beomgyu’s heart goes warm at seeing how much adoration this kid held towards huening kai. but something about huening kai being called a “hyung” was very unsettling. his baby was getting old now.

huening kai said something that beomgyu couldn’t decipher but he returns everyone’s hugs, before leaving the stage to meet soobin and beomgyu.

“you did fucking amazing!” soobin screams, ramming into huening kai before squeezing him very tightly in his arms.

huening kai smiles and returns the hug ten times tighter, “thank you, hyung. i’m sorry you had to skip classes. i’ll repay you soon, but i’m so happy you could make it last minute.”

soobin furrows his eyebrows, “uh? are you kidding? i’d rather fucking miss my stats class than anything in the world right now. you don’t have to be sorry!”

huening kai releases one of his loudest giggles before turning to beomgyu.

“hyungie, thank you so much for coming. i really do mean it. i’m serious,” he lets known his gratitude, nearly crying at beomgyu’s generosity.

beomgyu hands him a large bouquet of flowers with a little treat basket, and huening kai already seems so excited about it. beomgyu smiles at him, “no, it’s nothing! you did so well up there. but we’re gonna be heading out now, okay? yeonjunnie-hyung said he was going to pick us up after his final and he’s gonna go take us out to eat. does that sound okay?”

huening kai hesitantly gnaws at his bottom lip, “oh, no. no, it’s fine. we don’t have to go out and-”

“yes we do! now hurry out because hyung said he’s outside in his car. don’t feel bad just because we want to spoil you, hyuka. today is your day, okay?” soobin smiles at him before dragging his hand to lead him outside.

beomgyu follows right behind, as he already loses soobin and huening kai in the crowd. he was taking extra slow strides to think about how he was going to approach yeonjun within the situation. their fight was no longer a secret, but they’ve been going back and forth for an awful long time. it just no longer seemed right.

as he leaves the auditorium, he sees yeonjun’s car parked and the older boy is already running to huening kai and is engulfing him in the biggest, tightest hug. beomgyu’s smile grows wide that his cheeks hurt from smiling too much.

soobin and huening kai find their way in the back seat already, and he wants to stick his tongue out at them because he knew the two did it on purpose, leaving him to have to sit in the front seat with yeonjun. as he walks slowly towards the car, yeonjun jokingly rolls his eyes at how slow the boy is going. “hurry up would you!” soobin shouts from the back seat as he approaches the car. 

“hey, thanks for doing your best to come watch hyuka,” yeonjun whispers to him while the two in the back are distracted by something on their phone.

“i didn’t do it for you. i did it for huening kai.” beomgyu coldly says, refusing to even look at the hurt in yeonjun’s eyes.

* * *

as huening kai decided, they settled on catering his favorite restaurant to the apartment instead and spending the nights watching his favorite movies. usually, the boys would deny, because huening kai watches his favorite movies over and over again but today was his day. anything huening kai says, they do.

when they arrived at the apartment, it was decorated with balloons and little signs and pictures of huening kai. they were all curious as to how yeonjun was able to pull it off in such little amount of time, but he later on let them know that jinae decorated the apartment while yeonjun was gone to fetch the other three.

beomgyu frowned at the mention of her name.

as they’re hardly paying attention to the movie being played and instead are eating away at the catering, yeonjun’s phone buzzes.

**jen**   
_hey, i saw you and gyu today at the high school recital bc my sister goes to that school too!! i thought it’d be a perfect opportunity for me to take some candid shots of you two but as i took some you guys look awfully sad :( if you guys are going through a rough patch or something, that’s okay. just let me know. i could pick another couple if you guys want. _

**yeonjun **  
_heyyyy! shit i’m sorry. yeah gyu and i are in a bit of a little fight rn but i promise it’s nothing big. we’d still be very happy to be the subject of your project. _

“beomgyu? can you come over here for a quick second?” yeonjun voices from the kitchen, and the young boy turns around before furrowing his eyebrows.

he slowly makes his way towards yeonjun, “what do you want?” he says rather rudely.

“damn, i just needed to tell you something,” yeonjun returns the tone back, slightly offended. “jen texted me and said that she was taking candid shots of us at the recital and that we looked sad in the pics. she asked us if we were fighting. i just wanted you to know that if we’re gonna do this fake dating thing, we can’t be like this in public.”

“alright then, sorry.” he apologizes in an in-genuine tone.

“okay, well i’m gonna go downstairs to the cvs to get some drinks, okay? text me if you want anything,” he announces to the boys, grabbing his wallet and attempting to find an excuse to get a breath of fresh air.

“could i... maybe come?” beomgyu softly says, eyes glued to the floor.

yeonjun’s shocked. usually, beomgyu would want nothing to do with him.

“yeah... sure,” is all he says before heading to the door to tug his shoes on.

they awkwardly walk side by side, not exchanging any words with each other, causing the atmosphere to grow thick. yeonjun thinks the silence is too loud because he can hear the sound of his own heart beating. the tension grows thick by the second, the elevator ride being the worst part. being on the fifth floor makes it even worse because this time the ride seems to take way longer to reach the apartment lobby.

he can feel beomgyu looking at him, and for a reason unknown, yeonjun can already feel the blood rushing towards his cheeks. his cheeks begin heating up once he realizes beomgyu’s gaze is still on him. he doesn’t know why he’s so nervous. that’s his best friend.

when the elevator finally dings, yeonjun lets out a breath that he feels like he’s been holding for hours.

he heads towards the cvs store in their apartment lobby, and beomgyu swiftly follows behind him with his head down. it was evident that the two were still very much uncomfortable with each other’s presence, which was something very unusual for the both of them.

“i’m gonna grab a couple drinks for the boys and snacks too. grab what you want and i’ll pay,” he offers, separating ways even if it was highly inevitable since the cvs was such a small space.

heading towards the fridge section, he grabs a couple of grape juices for huening kai and strawberry sodas for himself and beomgyu. scanning through the rest of the store, he grabs a couple of snacks and beomgyu’s favorite flavor of chips before filling his basket to the brim. feeding four teenage boys felt like feeling a whole family of bears.

from the corner of his eyes, he can see beomgyu looking at him apprehensively for whatever reason. he looks anxious, like he doesn’t know where to go or what to do.

brushing it off, yeonjun picks out a couple more snacks for taehyun, until he feels a pair of shoulders colliding with his.

“oh, shit. sorry,” he apologizes, looking up until he realizes the pair of eyes he’s been met with.

“yunho?” he furrows his eyebrows, his name rolling off of yeonjun’s tongue leaving such a bitter taste.

yeonjun was a sweet person, anyone and everyone who knew him would vouch for that, but within the moment, every single bone in his body had such great hatred towards the boy standing in front of him. he felt the blood rushing through his veins and he had to push his tongue against the inside wall of his jaw. he was pressing far too hard, he almost thinks he’s about to make a hole on the inside of his jaw.

“hey... uh, i haven’t seen you in a long time? do you still talk to beomgyu?” he fiddles with his fingers. _of course the first thing he asks about is beomgyu._

“um, yeah i still do, actually. bit of a nerve you have for you to still be able to show up and talk to me man,” yeonjun spits out passive aggressively.

“you guys never gave me a chance to explain,” the boy pleads, crying on edge. the sudden mention of beomgyu’s name brings him to tears for no reason.

“listen, you have no fucking right to cry right now or even ask about beomgyu when you’re the one who cheated and left. so if you could move to the fucking side and let me get my things, that’d be more than great,” he says, too mockingly.

attempting to shove yunho to the side, he moves his shoulders to get past him, but the guy is putting up one hell of a fight and is refusing to let yeonjun get away. “just, please... let me talk to him at least? can i have his number?” the desperation in his voice almost makes yeonjun feel bad until he realizes the lewd and shitty things he’s done to beomgyu.

“no. so either you fucking get out of the way and let me leave, or wait until i get mad,” he threatens, and usually yeonjun is not a violent person. sure, he has a temper and gets mad easily but he would never result into violence until it’s very much needed. but the last time yeonjun saw yunho, he rammed him up against the wall and gave him a couple of good punches, and right now that didn’t seem too bad of an idea.

“baby, you okay?” a small voice comes from the side, and beomgyu walks up to yeonjun to hold his hand. it’s as if he realized yeonjun was about to do something and stepped in before it got big.

yunho’s mouth drops and his eyes water.

“beomgyu...” he whispers, almost as if he missed the sweet name rolling off of his tongue.

“can we go?” beomgyu whispers in yeonjun’s ear and the older boy is quick to hold beomgyu’s hand right back.

“what, so you’re dating this tool now?” yunho cockily says in a degrading tone. yeonjun’s nostrils flare and his chest tightens at the boy’s words. he’s about to step forward until beomgyu pulls his back and squeezes his hand tighter.

“yunho, i’m serious. leave us alone, please,” he says softly, dragging yeonjun’s hand and pulling him towards the cash register because the older boy seriously looks like he’s about to fight yunho.

“thought you woulda at least done better after me, but apparently not.” he arrogantly says in an impudent way, and that’s enough to trigger beomgyu into firing back.

“are you fucking serious? he is good to me, so good to me. more than you ever have been. so don’t go pulling any of this bullshit on me right now. he treats me well, and is still so good to me even if i’ve done something wrong. all you’ve ever done is made me feel bad about myself and not once has he ever made me feel that way. so please, just leave us the fuck alone. i’m happy with my own relationship so stop being so stuck on ours that ended a while ago.” yeonjun is surprised at beomgyu’s retaliation. he is unaware if beomgyu actually meant it, or if he was just spouting bullshit to draw yunho away, but nevertheless he was proud of the boy for standing up to someone who hurt him.

yeonjun pulls beomgyu away and heads straight to the register, quickly pulling out his wallet from his pocket as he feels beomgyu’s hands clasping around his arms. he quickly pays for the snacks and drinks before pulling beomgyu out of the convenience store.

“hey, let’s go to the garden first just in case he follows us upstairs and knows our apartment number,” he softly says to the boy, intertwining his fingers around beomgyu’s delicate ones.

as they take a seat on the bench, beomgyu all of a sudden turns to yeonjun’s chest and bursts out in sudden tears. it’s not like yeonjun didn’t feel it coming, but some part of him is still shocked that beomgyu’s initiated such contact. “fuck, i’m so sorry hyung. i just—“

“it’s okay, babe. it’s okay,” he whispers in his ear, biting his tongue to stop himself from crying at the sight of seeing beomgyu in emotional pain.

“i’m so sorry. i just— i wasn’t prepared to see him. and, and i don’t think i ever will be, and then you looked like you were about to punch him or something so i just had to do something, but something about seeing him right now really triggered me,” he says all in one breath while holding a fistful on yeonjun’s sweater in his hands.

“hey, listen to me...” yeonjun softly says, cupping beomgyu’s cheeks in his palms, “you have nothing to be sorry about. you had every right to lash out on a person who hurt you. i’m glad you did that.” he plants a kiss on the top of the crying boy’s head. “and that fake dating thing you said about me, you came up with that so quick, even you shocked me,” he jokingly says to ease the tension.

“what do you mean? i was being serious. you treat me so well,” he sniffles, slipping his fingers under yeonjun’s. “you probably don’t think the same but what i said wasn’t an act for the fake dating shit. i was being serious that you treat me well. i’ve been nothing but a hard time on you yet you still help me through so much shit. give yourself a bit of credit.” he hoarsely says, playing with yeonjun’s fingers.

“really?” yeonjun whispers, trying to swallow down the lump in his throat.

“i’m serious, and i guess i wanted to apologize too.” he takes a deep breath before unburying his head from the crook of yeonjun’s neck. “look, i’m sorry for being an asshole. even if i was bad to you, you still did your best and you were so good to me. but i’m more than sorry for assuming that shit upon you. you know how hard it is for me to trust people, and i shouldn’t have brought you into that, because i know that out of all people, i never hesitate to trust you. i just had so much shit going on and then the boys were fighting too and i was always in such a pissy ass mood, but still it’s no excuse.”

yeonjun looks at him with so much fond in his eyes, he can’t find himself to ever be upset at the lovely boy sat right in front of him. something about the beat of his heart was worrying him, but he chose to ignore the loud thudding coming from his chest.

“hey, it’s okay-”

“but it’s not, hyung! that’s the thing, i mess up over and over again and you and your goddamn kind heart will still forgive me for it every single time. i don’t deserve that, at all. and you’re more important to me than some fucking crush i have, but you have to understand me when i say he treats me just as well too. i’ve never met someone who was so good to me, after you. and i’m sorry if i let it get in the way of our friendship a lot but i promise i won’t hurt you anymore. and i’m sorry if i ever did.” he lets the tears roll down his face, and they fall right down on the top of yeonjun’s hand. it’s funny how he’s always there to catch them.

“if we have problems, we need to go to each other and talk them out, okay? and if i’ve done something to upset you or vice versa, you tell me right away so that we’re not walking on eggshells around each other. fighting with you was so draining, i hated every bit of it.” yeonjun could tell beomgyu was a bit nervous because the boy kept playing with yeonjun’s fingers, but he quietly nodded his head yes and kept apologizing.

“i will. only if you promise to do the same.”

“i promise.”

yeonjun holds beomgyu in his arms before planting delicate kisses on his forehead over and over again. “god, i’m so glad you came in in time because i’m so serious when i say that i was about to punch him like last time.” he chuckles, swiping a piece of beomgyu’s hair out of his eyes.

“you’re lucky taehyun wasn’t here to see him. he may be tiny but he’s a different person when he’s mad. we all know he hates yunho the most, after me,” yeonjun tells beomgyu who then grows nervous at the mention of taehyun, because it was true. taehyun despises yunho so much and gave him such a hard time after their breakup but nevertheless, beomgyu was thankful of taehyun for being protective.

“uh, speaking of...” yeonjun trails, showing beomgyu the text that soobin had just him.

**soobinie <3 **  
_hyungie i’m pretty sure getting snacks at the cvs doesn’t take 25 minutes so me and hyuka went looking for u guys and saw that you guys are at the garden. idk what happened and why you both are crying and i’m happy for you if you made up, bbuuuttttttt i’m in a bit of a situation and taehyun just came and i already know something is gonna happen so please hurry here quick _

“poor hyung, he’s always caught in the middle,” beomgyu pouts.

* * *

beomgyu and yeonjun rush to their apartment, and open it to find soobin already in the middle separating taehyun and huening kai. they both look like they’re on the verge of tears but soobin looks like he’s about to lose it.

beomgyu holds back taehyun while yeonjun takes huening kai as his responsibility.

“what part of i_ don’t want to talk to you_, do you not get?” huening kai raises his voices, causing taehyun’s eyes to grow wide. “you knew how fucking important this was for me so don’t get mad at me for being upset.” yeonjun has his hands on huening kai’s shoulders just for the safety of everything, but he could feel his younger brother’s aura radiating so much anger.

“i’m sorry, how many more times do i have to say it! i sped here once i realized but i was far too late. i would never forget on purpose but it just slipped my mind because i had to take eunji somewhere important. i know how important this was for you, i really do. but i’m so sorry for missing your important day, i have no excuse.” he chews his bottom lip but it was useless when tears were already streaming down his face.

“you get a girlfriend and all of a sudden forget that your best friend exists.” he retaliated, and beomgyu holds taehyun back extra tight because he knew that was enough to say to spiral the boy into anger.

“now don’t fucking turn this to eunji. none of this is her fault.” he accusingly points at huening kai, who is not even trying to suppress his anger and tears.

“i’m so fucking tired, taehyun. i don’t want to keep doing this.” huening kai lets out, finally breaking and running to yeonjun’s room.

as he disappears into the room, all four of the boys look at each other, taking in the awkward tension unaware of what to say to ease the atmosphere.

“uhhh... i mean on the bright side beomgyu and yeonjun made up.... right?” soobin awkwardly smiles before releasing a little giggle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nooowwww, don’t get too comfortable hehe remember this is an angst book😈 heheh jk 
> 
> but seriously oh my goodness everyone the comeback was just soooo gooood i swear the boys just know how to do everything🥺 
> 
> and what did we think about this chapter??? hopefully this was okayyy even if i whipped it up rlly late but yes i hope you enjoyed it nonethe less
> 
> and i wanted to thank everyone who’s been commenting and supporting recently it really does make me happy and i’m glad you guys enjoy reading my chapters! all the sweet comments warm my heart 
> 
> *IMPORTANT*  
as for my taegyu fic, i am planning on releasing it next week, so would you guys rather have me release both the one shot, and the next chapter of this book next week, or JUST the one shot. bc i’m super excited for the taegyu angst one shot so let me know!!! 
> 
> also what do u guys think of beomjun partially making up and yunho???? and whattt?? a chapter without jihyun???? and is there hope for tyunning?? hehe
> 
> see you next chapter lovelies! <3


	16. fights and phone calls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> before i get started with the chapter, i just wanted to state that i do not consider myself a large platform by any means, but i am aware that over 4k people are reading my story, and i wanted to address a situation to the 4k that are reading. I URGE YOU TO NOT TURN AN IGNORANT EYE TO WHAT IS GOING ON IN AMERICA AND USE YOUR VOICE. what happened with george floyd was not okay, and he deserves justice. 
> 
> i want my readers to be signing petitions, spreading awareness, educating others, and joining the movement . if you have time to read a chapter of my book, you definitely have time to do any of the things i had just listed. please, DO SOMETHING AND SPEAK OUT. 
> 
> to any of the black community that are my readers, i am so sorry we have let you down and we will bring you the justice you deserve. my heart is with every single one of you. 
> 
> i myself am an american but am from southeast asia, and i stand with the black community. please to any of my readers, send me good news and let me know you’ve done something to help. 
> 
> — 
> 
> with that being said, there will be no qotds to respect the issue i have addressed, so please kindly wait next week to get back into it! 
> 
> as for my taegyu au, i will be delaying it until next week so please look out for it. i hope you guys enjoy it. 
> 
> TW! slight homophobia in this chapter
> 
> #BlackLivesMatter

yeonjun was at rest knowing that his best friend was back at home being comfortable within his presence. of course, things were still awkward, but it was much better than constantly glaring at each other and hating each other’s guts. he missed his best friend. he loved seeing him smile freely and take in the warmth of their own apartment, but something was amiss.

huening kai took shelter in beomgyu’s room, which usually wasn’t a problem because beomgyu usually slept in yeonjun’s room anyways. but this time, beomgyu was sleeping in his own bed with huening kai. not in yeonjun’s like they always planned.

yeonjun was overreacting.

“hyung, i’m sorry for bothering you two but thank you for letting me crash here even if im a nuisance,” huening kai guiltily says as yeonjun passes by beomgyu’s room to say his good nights. beomgyu had his chin tucked into the blanket and yeonjun coos at his position.

“you sweet thing, are you kidding! you’re not a nuisance at all, i have so much fun when you’re here. don’t even feel bad for staying here, you’re open to our apartment at any time! god you’re literally junnie’s brother, don’t ever feel like a burden...” beomgyu gives solace to the worrying boy who seemed on edge. yeonjun couldn’t stop himself from grinning at his best friend being overprotective over his little brother.

“thank you, hyung...” he whispers, climbing under the covers with beomgyu.

“of course, you brat.” he teases, ruffling the younger boy’s hair.

“goodnight you two,” yeonjun leans against the door frame, fingertips clasping the light switch. “gyu, you’re not gonna sleep with me?” he raises his eyebrows, waiting for beomgyu to respond.

“uh... a-am i a-allowed?” he trembles, like a little boy afraid of being scolded by their parent for doing something wrong. it was so cute, yeonjun thought.

“bub, of course you are. you can sleep with me any time you want. but it you wanna sleep with huening kai then you can. it was just a suggestion...” he shrugs, crossing his feet as he grows tired from the standing position he was holding against the door frame.

“hyung, you can go. i actually wanted to be alone for tonight if that’s okay with you...” the younger boy reveals, shrinking further into the covers.

“hyuka, you sure? hyung can stay the night with you.” beomgyu offers, looking him closely in the eyes.

“yeah. more than sure, hyung. i like to be alone when things like these happen. i’ll be okay.” he reassures the over-worrying boy who still looks a little hesitant for leaving him alone during the night even if they’re only seven steps down the hall.

“goodnight, hyungies.” he softly says, burying his head into the pillows.

“night, hyuka.” the two say in unison as yeonjun flips the switch off while beomgyu weakly peaks the blanket off of himself and hops out of the bed.

shutting his door, beomgyu follows behind yeonjun into his room and a part of him is still guilty for stepping foot into his territory of the apartment. it just felt wrong, after all the wrong things he’s done and said to the poor boy, he feels as if he doesn’t deserve to be cared for that night, and all the nights after that.

yeonjun tugs his shirt over his head because it was awfully hot that night. and sleeping shirtless isn’t something he usually does on the daily but the boy had a low heat tolerance to begin with. he wasn’t going to sleep sweaty. once he got himself situated, he slips himself under the covers and begins to scroll on his phone nonchalantly. he does that for a few seconds when he realizes the other side of the bed is awfully cold, because beomgyu is still standing in the doorway, just staring at him.

“well aren’t you going to join me?” he tilts his head, genuinely confused as to why the younger boy is still standing dumbfounded in the middle of yeonjun’s room instead of being cuddled up in the bed with him.

“right... sorry...” he shakes his head, snapping out of it and apologizing. inchmeal, he walks towards his side of the bed, and god did he miss this feelings. after nights of sleeping on foreign beds, this felt right.

he turns to his side, watching yeonjun reply to any last messages and go through his last scrolls on twitter before locking his phone. when yeonjun looks to his side and realizes beomgyu had been staring at him, he puts his phone on the nightstand and lies on his side to give beomgyu his full attention. he uses the faint light of the little night light to get a look of the sulk on beomgyu’s face.

“why the long face, love?” he pouts, pressing his thumb against beomgyu’s chin who is still a bit shy towards the older.

“i just... i don’t know. i felt like i hurt you a lot, seeing you hurt is one thing i hate the most.i was so ignorant towards your feelings and i hate that you were so quick to forgive me because i really did not deserve that. i promise to communicate with you more but please tell me next time if i hurt you so i don’t go too far.” beomgyu is the first one to find yeonjun’s hand in the dark, under the covers and clasp his little fingers around yeonjun’s. yeonjun is shocked by the sudden gesture but doesn’t hesitate to return it back.

“beomgyu, listen to me. we’ve been friends for a long time and we get into really bad fights and this just so happened to be one of them. but that doesn’t mean that i love you any less, does it? i was upset, but we talked things through and we worked things out, okay? i don’t want you beating yourself up over this. you’re my best friend, and a god damn good one so don’t feel guilty over it. and this is probably hard on you too because the man who hurt you the most just walked back into your life and i’m going to do everything i can do to protect you. so please, bub stop worrying. we’re okay, we always find our way back.” he hears beomgyu’s breath come to a hitch, and before he knows it, the smaller boy is burying himself into the older boy’s chest.

yeonjun could feel the boy’s hand resting on his bare chest and the warm tears falling down onto his neck. he hates seeing his best friend cry, it did things to his heart so all he could do was hold him tight and bury kisses onto the top of his head.

“hyungie, your chest is a little cold...” beomgyu attempts to joke through his tears, rubbing yeonjun’s bare chest to radiate some form of heat. “i’m sorry for always being such a mess.”

“you’re not a mess, angel. you’re a normal person with normal problems.”

* * *

when yeonjun wakes up that morning, he doesn’t expect to see jihyun on his kitchen table with beomgyu with sheets of paper sprawled around everywhere. yeonjun is a little taken aback because beomgyu is in his hoodie while wearing his glasses, which he never wears around anyone except yeonjun. beomgyu has seemed to gain this sudden comfortability around jihyun, that he only tended to have around yeonjun. and yeonjun isn’t too thrilled about it.

“morning, baby.” he groggily says, hugging beomgyu from behind who is also taken aback by it. yeonjun plants a kiss on the corner of beomgyu’s mouth before walking into the kitchen to make himself a bowl of cereal.

“oh, babe hi. didn’t know you were up. jihyun’s over for a study date, hope that’s fine.” beomgyu says without looking up, eyes glued to his paper clearly stressed out. he continues pressing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose and yeonjun just finds it so cute.

“of course, baby.” he nods his head, turning around to look at jihyun. “hey, man.” he gives him a half-assed greeting to which jihyun only returns with a head nod.

yeonjun turns around and watches tv from the kitchen counter, until he sees something from his periphs that doesn’t quite seem right. his two brothers huening kai and soobin are in his balcony with a phone in between both of their ears, as if both of them were trying to listen to the conversation, looking as if they were middle schoolers confessing to their crushes.

“uhh...beomgyu?” yeonjun trails, wondering if his eyes are deceiving him or if both of his brothers were really on his balcony this early in the morning.

“yeah, baby?” beomgyu replies back instantly, eyes still glued on his paper. yeonjun’s heart tries not to flutter at the pet name but it was incredibly difficult when the four letter word just flowed so naturally off of his tongue.

“why are both of my brothers in our balcony screaming like middle school girls?” he munches on his cereal, eyes no long on the tv.

he hears jihyun chuckle and that is enough for him to be annoyed for the morning.

“oh, well hyuka woke up like an hour ago because some cute guy texted him and then soobin-hyung came over because he said he was sick of taehyun and eunji at their apartment so it was perfect timing and now they’re both tryna talk to the cute guy now.” he says all in one breath, and all of a sudden yeonjun’s big brother instincts take over.

“um? my little brother is talking to a boy?” he furrows his eyebrows to signify if he heard correctly and beomgyu’s drops his pencil and smirks.

“yes, now get over it.” beomgyu laughs at yeonjun’s dramatic antics. “now come sit hereand accompany me while studying because i am losing it.” he scoots his bum on the left side of the chair to make some space for yeonjun.

yeonjun coyly makes his way towards the kitchen table and squeezes his bum into the small chair with beomgyu and the younger boy continues on with his work. yeonjun rests his head on beomgyu’s shoulder who is too engaged on his paper, and he slips his hands around the working boy’s arm to be clingy just for the hell of it. without thinking, yeonjun pecks beomgyu’s neck just for laughs but beomgyu seems to like it judging by the fits of giggles he’s trying to suppress. satisfied by the reaction, he trails more soft kisses down beomgyu’s neck to slightly annoy him but all that ever does is make beomgyu giggle more.

“um, do ya’ll mind? you guys are being gross.” jihyun drops his pencil, leaving it to cause a loud noise against the table surface. yeonjun doesn’t know if he said it teasingly, or if he’s genuinely annoyed, but judging but the look of his face he wasn’t to thrilled by it anyways.

“you’re just jealous.” beomgyu smirks once again, and he so badly wishes that jihyun indeed was.

beomgyu and yeonjun look at each other and smirk because they knew their plan was working.

“woah, can y’all calm down with the hickeys?” soobin says, opening the balcony door while he and huening kai make their way into the kitchen.

yeonjun’s cheeks begin to turn red and he realizes beomgyu’s are doing just the same.

jihyun in the other hand doesn’t look too pleased with yeonjun’s lips being all over beomgyu’s neck.

“can you shut up i wasn’t giving him hickeys. just lil neck kisses.” he sticks his tongue out at his two younger brothers. “and you little choi,” he points an accusatory finger towards huening kai’s whose face reads nothing but guilty, “i’m gonna have a word with you later.” he threateningly says, which indeed does scare the younger one, but all soobin does is laugh it off.

“no but hyung, listen. he’s coming over to our apartment tonight, just to hang out! soobin-hyung will be sitting between us if you’re worried.” huening kai pleads and yeonjun’s heart drops at his little brother bringing a boy over his apartment.

beomgyu rubs his thighs under the table to ease his worries.

it was just a boy.

no big deal.

“okay, fine.” yeonjun crosses his arms as he pushes his tongue against the inside of his jaw. “so you wouldn’t mind then if i came over tonight and joined?” he smart-assily says, causing beomgyu to punch him from under the table.

“baby, come on. let them have their fun. hyuka’s a good kid stop acting like a mom.” beomgyu scolds yeonjun as if they were an actual couple and jihyun just about looked sick of their domesticity.

“bro, chill. let the kid live, my god.” jihyun voices out, and yeonjun has to turn his head to remember that the guy was still in the room. his irrelevancy just made yeonjun assume he wasn’t there.

“yeonjunnie’s just protective. that’s all,” beomgyu defends yeonjun for the first time in front of jihyun and he is in complete utter shock. it feels like an epiphany to him for some sort of reason.

“yay! so a party it is then at the kang and choi’s apartment.” yeonjun teases, causing huening kai to grow irritated at his older brother’s actions.

“hyunnnnggg....” the younger boy throws his head back in irritation and releases the loudest groan ever.

this was going to be fun.

* * *

yeonjun later that day, grabbed beomgyu along with him and headed to the boys’ apartment while the three were out. taehyun was out on a date with eunji and soobin took huening kai out to eat as they always do. yeonjun dragged beomgyu’s ass after he finished his study date with jihyun and took a long nap after. he wanted to be there and meet this boy that huening kai and soobin were talking about. he wasn’t going to scare him off, just wanted to see if he was as cute as the boys were turning him out to be.

he knew huening kai wouldn’t allow him in if he knocked directly, and the younger boy was smart enough to steal yeonjun’s copy of their apartment key before leaving earlier so he had no choice but to bribe beomgyu for using his copy of the key. it didn’t take much convincing in all honesty. all the boy needed was a movie night with free takeout for two weekends straight, and it’s not like yeonjun hasn’t been doing that anyways. it was a win win for him.

with one hour of just beomgyu and yeonjun laying on each other on the couch (with beomgyu cleaning around the apartment in between) the door flies open while huening kai, soobin, taehyun, and eunji all walk in at the same time, looking as awkward as ever.

“god that was the most awkward elevator ride i’ve ever ridden,” soobin sighs as soon as he walks through the door, having no care in the world if anyone heard him.

“woah, wait? huening kai where’s you’re little crush huh?” yeonjun makes kissy noises to tease, and taehyun’s head whips to his direction at the speed of light when he hears yeonjun speak up.

huening kai gives him a blunt look.

“oh, i told him not to come and to come another day instead since my annoying ass brother is gonna be here,” he kicks his shoes off far more aggressively than he intended, accidentally throwing his shoes at eunji’s feet, who then in turn groans in pain.

“seriously? childish as hell, grow up.” taehyunrushes to eunji’s side to check on her perfectly fine foot and huening kai is already fighting back an eye roll.

“it was a fucking accident. damn, i’m sorry okay.” he curses far too much within his sentence, and everyone knew huening kai really wasn’t one to curse much, so yeonjun spots something wrong.

“hey! watch your fucking language.” yeonjun scolds the boy who then rolls his eyes at the hypocrisy his older brother possessed.

“what? were you planning on bringing jungwoo around again?” taehyun smirks, knowing exactly what he had just done.

yeonjun’s eyes widen.

“again? what do you mean again? this isn’t the first time?” he throws question out after question and beomgyu is quick to rest his hand on top of yeonjun’s to ease his short temper.

“hyung, it’s fine. he literally comes over here because we’re partners for a school project and that’s all we do. i promise. ask soobin-hyung, he’s there for it all the time.” he says, drained within the situation. sometimes he hated having an overprotective brother.

“well he’s here an awful lot and you don’t even let your roommates know. bit of a nerve you have when you were getting on my ass about it for the snake.” eunji grabs taehyun’s hand in hers to calm him down but everyone in the room already knew nothing could have eased the tension in this room.

“babe, calm down.” she whispers in taehyun’s ear but he’s quick to ignore.

“really? cause i only have him over for school purposes and that’s it. and i may have a crush on him who knows, but i know where to draw the line. you on the other hand have your girlfriend sleep over without letting us know so don’t go turning it on me.”

yeonjun doesn’t like where this argument is leading. he could feel beomgyu trying to calm him down by rubbing the tops of his hands constantly and threading his small delicate fingers through yeonjun’s hair, but unfortunately that isn’t enough to lure away yeonjun’s worries.

“both of you, stop it.” beomgyu’s breaks the argument in hopes of taking the problem off of yeonjun’s back. “that’s enough. you guys are taking this way too far and are acting like fucking babies. talk it out like the grown ups you guys are. you’re not fucking five anymore to be acting like this. and to eunji, i’m so sorry you had to see this.” he raises his voice, frightening the rest of the boys.

beomgyu never raises his voice at anyone.

“well maybe if he didn’t bring that guy over every day without asking me this would have been fine.”

“yeah? fine, i’ll just stay at his house instead if you hate seeing him here that bad.” huening kai suggests, which brings taehyun to a halt. his breath hitches at the mention, and he slightly opens his mouth to say something but nothing comes out.

“fine. do whatever you want. i don’t care about what you do anymore.”

* * *

beomgyu and yeonjun left their apartment that night hurt, seeing their little brothers fight. and of course, they offered soobin to stay the night to keep the two separated but soobin kindly declined the offer, saying shit like “they’ll never make up if they keep avoiding each other” so soobin ordered them to go home back to their own apartment. soobin was the kindest to the two, despite how many times he’s been caught in the middle. he was still able to be neutral in both situations and hardly ever picked sides. the two were very thankful for him. they wished they could give him a break and show him they appreciated him but he just had too kind of a heart to decline anyone.

“god these two are making me lose hope, hyung. do you really think they’re gonna make up?” beomgyu shakily asks, sitting on the side of yeonjun’s bed unable to keep still.

“i don’t know, i mean i think they’re just super in-denial of their feelings towards each other. even a blind person can see how they feel, yet they’re tiptoeing around it and are getting with other people to hurt each other. and it hurts me to see them like that. it’s frustrating and draining at this point.”

yeonjun has a feeling he’s no longer referring to taehyun and huening kai.

“i know, it seems super complicated for them. i just wish they’d put their immaturities aside.” he pouts, adjusting his position.

“what about you yeonjun-hyung? do you think you’ve found someone?” beomgyu fidgets with his fingers.

yeonjun is taken aback by his question.

he opens his mouth to say something but the ringing of his phone cuts him off, thank god.

it was from someone unexpected.

_“eomma?”_ gulping, he looks at beomgyu who is already quick to hold his hand

_“yeonjun, your father and i have collected some news”_

_“eomma, how are you? what is it?”_

_“i don’t have time for that right now, yeonjun. i have a meeting in a few, but i was unable to let this go unsaid, you better be straight with me.”_

_“of course, eomma. what was it that you wanted? “_

_“your father and i have teamed up with your university for our company and we have taken a look at the school’s website. do you care to explain why a young lady named jen has a project published about you. and not only you but you with the choi’s son? for christ sake, yeonjun they are our business partners. have you really fallen in love with a male? please, we are begging, tell me this is a joke.”_

yeonjun turns his head and looks at beomgyu, tears welling in his eyes. he has no clue what to say to his conservative parents. this would be the last thing they’d want to hear from their first born son.

_“yeonjun, this is so bad for our company if the press find out. do you know how difficult this could be on us? especially with our ongoing projects, we cannot have this on us. you are next to take on the role on this company and now i am unsure of handing that to you. how could you be so careless?”_

beomgyu brings yeonjun’s head to his chest, and the boy could do nothing but cry into it and release silent cries. he wasn’t going to look weak in front of his mother.

_“eomma, i never wanted to be a part of the company and i’ve told you that! i’ve told you so many times what i’ve wanted to do and you were never supportive! i am in love with him, and he’s not just the “choi’s son.” his name is beomgyu, you need to accept that i’m in love with a man and that is fucking okay.”_

_“don’t you dare raise your voice and use that vulgar language on me! either you call off the project which seems to be a huge deal within the university, or you’re on your own, yeonjun.”_

_“i’m not calling off anything. beomgyu’s parents, your fucking business partners, have accepted their son for who he is, so why can’t you fucking do the same?”_

_“it’s not right, yeonjun. it’s not right.”_

_“don’t speak to me, don’t come to my apartment, don’t try to ever contact me.”_

_“we pay for your apartment yeonjun! you’re nothing without us, and when you come crying to us because you’ve found no way to support yourself, we’ll still welcome you with open arms and say i told you so.”_

_“i don’t fucking care! i’ve tolerated your toxicity for so long! i’ll get a fucking job of my own, and support myself and prove to you that you’re a shit of a mother who is willing to abandon me for being myself.”_

_“yeonjun don’t you-“_

the line goes dead.

yeonjun cries into beomgyu’s arms.

“it’s okay, baby. it’s okay,” beomgyu whispers into his ears and holds him tight in his arms, afraid to let go and let the cruel world have a go at him. his best friend didn’t deserve any of what the world was throwing at him.

“i’m sorry i told we were together even if we aren’t. i-i was just so s-sick of hearing i-it,” he sniffles, burying his head from beomgyu’s chest to look at the younger boy’s eyes and apologize.

“no, hyung. you have nothing to apologize for. don’t even say that right now.”

“m-maybe i should tell her it was a f-fake dating thing. and maybe she’ll f-forgive me.” he falls into beomgyu’s arms, seeping into the comforting warmth of feeling what it’s like to be loved.

“no, yeonjun-hyung. no, what if you actually fall in love with a guy, huh? what are you gonna tell them then? you’re gonna hear the whole thing all over again and just have themconstantly shit on you for being yourself? i’m not going to let you hurt yourself like that hyung, it hurts me seeing you hurt. you’ve stood up to your mom after being treated like that for years, and i am so fucking proud of you, you should be too.” yeonjun’s breaths just begin hitching from there on out. beomgyu’s words were the only things we wanted to hear right now, beomgyu’s touch was the only thing he wanted to feel right now.

“and you have me. okay, baby? you have me, and you have your little brothers, and you have taehyun. i’ll always be there, right next to you despite the vile words your mother said about you. hell, she doesn’t even deserve that title. i’m so fucking angry right now i could call eomma right now and tell her to break the contract.” he balls his fists out of rage, gritting his teeth together as his eyes grow dark, a sight that yeonjun has never seen.

“no, beomie. it’s okay, i’ll be fine. i’ll find a job and support myself and work on my own. i’m so lucky to have you in my life, i would be so broken without you right now.” beomgyu does his best to catch all the tears falling on yeonjun’s cheeks, desperately failing but continuing to do so anyways.

“i’m so fucked.”

“you’re not. you have me and i’ll be next to you the whole way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope this chapter was okay, and please feel free to talk about it in the comments! 
> 
> but as i said in the beginning notes, it is very important that you are being educated about the situation about black lives going on right now. what happened to george floyd was completely unacceptable and he is not getting any ounce of justice. if you disagree with me, please exit the fuck out of my book right this second because i will NOT be having anyone ignorant read my story 
> 
> i really don’t talk about these things on my aus but this is an important topic that needs to be recognized and i am relying on you readers and trust that you will do the same and support the movement. 
> 
> to any readers i have of the black community, i am so sorry we let you down. 
> 
> #BlackLivesMatter


	17. fake plants

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helllooo everyonneee!! 
> 
> now as you can tell, i didn’t update last week so i am super sorry for that:( i’m so sorry i just have been feeling down so i needed a break and i might take short breaks like these often so i hope you guys don’t mind. but i promise they won’t be long. 
> 
> but how is everyone liking comeback? oh my goodness i’m in love i can’t even explain 
> 
> and like i said, this book is A VERY SLOW BRUN and will b very long so hopefully that is okay with you guys!!! but not too long where it’s dragging. let me know what u think of this chapter! 
> 
> *IMPORTANT*   
my taegyu au one shot will be delayed for a few more weeks until i have it all together so i’m very sorry to everyone waiting! i promise it will be worth it! just a little more waiting 
> 
> here are today’s set of qotds: 
> 
> 1.) now that we have a new era, which era is your favorite? 
> 
> 2.) rank you top three favorite txt songs (so excited for these answers hehe) 
> 
> 3.) favorite txt choreo? 
> 
> i forget if i recycle questions and i’m not sure so let just roll with it hehe 
> 
> happy reading!! <3

yeonjun woke up stressed, eyelids puffy from crying heavily the night prior. as he peered to his side, his best friend was still deep in his slumber, releasing small little snores. carefully bringing his lips to the boys forehead, he planted a peck on his soft skin before heading out for the day.

yeonjun didn’t know where he was going to go this early in the morning. usually he’d be out like a light during this time, so that’s when he knew something was amiss when he’s awake at an ungodly hour. he’s never awake this early by choice.

so that’s how he finds himself driving to his school’s campus, leading him to the cafe. he wasn’t even worried about how much of a mess he looked. his hair was messy, his clothes were baggy, his under eyes were way too purple to be a normal color, and his cheeks were red. everything about yeonjun screamed a mess.

walking up to the empty cafe, he walks in pouting hardly even saying a word before jinae calls for him. “morning, pretty boy—oh no... what happened to you, love? you look... really bad.” she lowers her tone the further her sentence goes, looking yeonjun up and down and examining the mess he is.

“wow. you are so sweet. please, compliment me more.” he sardonically says, grimly speaking. 

“sorry... usually you’re very put together... and i just thought that maybe something was wrong. but by the way, you still look cute don’t get me wrong. it’s just that, you look very off today, love.” she attempts to divulge her thoughts in a very soft way, in fear of offending yeonjun. she multi tasks, wiping down the counter as she holds a conversation with the boy. it seems as though the store is not open yet and she was preparing to open up.

“jinae...” he whispers, pushing his tongue against the inside walls of his cheek in hopes of not breaking down. but calling for her was all it took for him to fall apart.

“oh, sweetie...” she worriedly says, dropping the rags and rushes to his side. “it’s okay, i’m here.” she comfortingly holds the boy in her arms the way a big sister would. “what’s wrong, yeonjun? did something happen with you and beomgyu?” running her fingers through his hair, she attempts to calm the boy down until his tears are no longer running.

“n-no... we’re actually good now... it’s m-my parents..” he lets out when he gives himself a minute to wipe his tears. stumbling over his words, he attempts to explain the situation but his tongue was tied. he couldn’t explain at the moment.

“what’s wrong? you can talk to me.” she consolingly says in a soft voice, grabbing his hand. “here why don’t we go in the back room? there’s comfy couches there,” she gently smiles as she takes his hand and leads him to the break room filled with cute coffee tables and comfy couches.

“okay, talk to me.”

“my um... i uh— i kind of came out to my parents? and they um... they told me to not follow through with the relationship because it could be bad for the company if the press finds out. and it’ll earn us a bad reputation. and i guess it’s even worse that i’m dating their business partner’s son. i don’t know, i was never close with my parents, neither were my little brothers to begin with. which is why i took them out of the house and got an apartment out here, but they promised to pay for it. as long as none of us did bad shit that would attract the press. but they threatened to no longer pay for it if i didn’t break up with beomgyu, and of course i’m not going to do that. and i do not want him using all of his allowance on our rent so i’m so fucking lost. and my parents are just so unaccepting of me and i’m losing my mind, jinae.” he explains in one continuous breath, holding on by a thread before he breaks down once again finding comfort in jinae’s left shoulder.

“oh, babe. i’m so sorry.” she whispers, tucking yeonjun’s head in the crook of her neck. “listen to me, your parents are absolute assholes for making you do something like that. it’s fucked up how they can’t let you be comfortable with yourself, but you need to listen to me carefully.” she cups his cheeks so that he is indeed listening to her carefully. “around me, you can be whoever you want. around your boyfriend, and your friends, and your brothers, you are free to be yourself. because we’ll never judge you. so please confide in me when you need me because i won’t go anywhere. you’re basically stuck with me,” she chuckles, swiping her finger under yeonjun’s chin as a form to tease him despite the dull moment.

“and as for the job thing,” she pauses, rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb. “i’ve got you. you’re going to get through this and i will help you. you can do shifts here at the cafe, whatever schedule works with you and we’ll be co-workers. it’ll be so much fun, are you kidding! it’s a mellow environment despite the annoying ass rude ass customers we get once in a while but i’m sure you’ll get the hang of it. and free coffee every shift.” she pleasantly offers in an affable manner. yeonjun has to do a double take and look at her twice to assure that he hasn’t heard wrong. “i know your parents are owners of a huge company, and this cafe doesn’t pay the most money, but it’s definitely a start. it’ll show them that you can live without their trust fund.”

“w-wait... are you serious? you’d do that for me?” he gulps, swallowing the lump in his throat that had doubled the size within the last thirty seconds.

“are you kidding? of course i would! i still owe you from that awful night which i will never get over. i’m sure you’re a fast learner and i’ll be training you anyways. there’s only one other worker in this tiny cafe other than myself so we do need a helping hand anyways.” shrugging, she’s already reaching for a new apron for the new incoming employee, aka yeonjun.

“do i need an interview? or have to present a resume? and who even is the manager? who do i speak to?” he spouts out question after question coming out of his ass and jinae giggles at how adorably flustered the boy is.

“yeonjun, silly...” she laughs once again, shoving him a bit. “you’re thinking too much. you don’t need an interview. hell, i didn’t even get one. my mom owns this small school cafe and there’s literally two employees, the other being myself because no one ever wants to work at this little cafe shit. they all want the cool on-campus jobs. and i mean usually i would give the interviews, but quite frankly i am too lazy to ask you questions like _what are your strengths and weaknesses? _so how about we skip that part and get you an apron?” her eyes disappear into thin lines, signifying that she is more excited than yeonjun.

“jinae, wait. thank you. you don’t know how much you’re helping and saving my ass. how could i repay you?” he stutters, attempting to reach in his wallet for some cash as a way to pay her back little by little.

“god, no! put that back in your pocket or else i’m unhiring you!” she threatens, though her tone lacked any true conviction. “and me and the other employee have our names custom made on our aprons which is a really fun part of it, but if you want i can take it home and do it! since y’know... boys are usually super sloppy...” she accusingly says, scratching her head and yeonjun is slightly offended.

“hey, that’s not true at all! but, yes if it’s not a bother i’d love for you to do it because yours looks so... you. and it’s so cute. i don’t think i have the energy for that right now.” he coyly looks down at his feet, still shocked at jinae offering him a job.

“perfect! just text me, let me know when you can start so i can train you. making coffee is pretty easy, but it’s those annoying customers who make their orders so complicated that makes me hate this job just a little. give me your hours, and text me at the end of every week your availability so i can schedule you. most of the time, i’m working on shift because the other girl is only here part time so mostly it’s just gonna be you and me. but there will be instances in which we’ll have to open and close the shop together, and once you get the hang of it you’ll start opening and closing yourself if you choose those hours, but of course you don’t have to choose those hours!” she explains while walking and cleaning the back room.

yeonjun is a bit overwhelmed. it’s not that the workload seemed difficult, rather it was the fact that he was having a bad morning start, but his friend ever so kindly got him a job and offered him a spot in the cafe. it was too much to process.

“y-yeah...” he mutters, zoning out. “thank you, jinae. really. i know you’re always working but when you’re not busy i hope we can do something together. you’ve been super supportive. i don’t even have the right words to thank you,” he says, pulling her into his arms before the lady is quick to hug back and give him a tight squeeze. 

“of course, yeonjun. we’re friends now. and i care for you,” she moves her way into the cafe as she switches the register on and hastily mops the floor. “but for now, i have to open up the shop. so go to your boyfriend and let him know the good news! and tell him i say hi, okay?” she pushes his bum out of the store and yeonjun’s lips immediately tug into a smile. “and could you flip the closed sign to open for me?”

“i will, thank you again. i’ll text you,” he waves her goodbye before doing as she says and flipping the sign to signify the store is open.

“alright, bye pretty boy.” she teasingly says before tying her hair up to get the day started.

as yeonjun steps out of the cafe, his back pocket begins vibrating and he immediately knows who the call will be from.

_“hyung? are you okay? i saw your location so i’m taking an uber right now to the university. just wanted to know if you were okay after last night?”_ he answers with a large amount of panic in his voice. yeonjun immediately feels awful for making him get up early and uber all the way there for the stupidest reason.

_“baby, guess what!”_ he attempts to refrain himself from jumping up and down like a little kid, but it isn’t until beomgyu hesitates to reply, when he notices his little slip up. slapping his forehead at the mistake, he hopes beomgyu doesn’t take it weirdly.

_“d-did you just call me baby?”_ he giggles at the other end of the line, and yeonjun immediately wants to crawl up in a ball and die. yeonjun would sometimes call beomgyu “baby” but it was usually in a comforting manner, and never used as a very casual pet name.

_“shit, sorry. sometimes i forget when to turn off the fake dating shit. i’m sorry.”_ he embarrassingly says, playing with his ear to feel the heat rush to it.

_“no, no. it’s cute,”_ he says in his raspy morning voice, and yeonjun could already tell that beomgyu has rushed to the campus. _“please, just let me know you’re okay. i woke up without you and got worried especially after what happened last night. my uber is like two minutes away from the cafe. i’ll be there soon if you need me,”_ he softly says, and yeonjun is beyond enamored by the boy on the other side of the phone.

_“i needed a break from my mind a little so i went to visit jinae at the cafe, but beomgyu guess what?”_ he tries to contain his excitement, emulating that of a kid who is trying to tell a story to his parents.

_“what’s that, bub?”_ beomgyu replies back, and yeonjun can hear the smile in his tone despite not seeing it.

_“i broke down in front of jinae, i don’t even know why. i just did. and she listened to me and was just so supportive, and she even offered me a job at the cafe. and beom, this is so great, we’ll be able to keep the apartment and i’ll be able to have my own money since my parents are refusing to help me with it. she said i could pick my own hours and have my own schedule.”_ he tries to say all in one breath but it was beyond impossible when he was talking a thousand words per minute.

there was a long pause at the end of the line and it isn’t until yeonjun sees a car pull up in front of the cafe.

except it’s not an uber.

it’s jihyun.

beomgyu hangs up the phone and runs his way into yeonjun’s arms, holding him a little tighter. “god i was worried about you. you have to tell me when you leave,” he shoves him a bit hard despite the smile on his face. “but junnie, that sounds amazing. i’m just... i don’t know, i’m a little worried about you.” he holds yeonjun’s hand as they start walking around campus. “with school, you’re already busy enough with your extra classes, and now work? and i know damn well you’re going to accept extra hours without hesitating. and you know you can always ask me if you need a little extra money, right? i’m here for you, and so are my parents. you know that. they love you, jun.” beomgyu begins slightly swinging their hands as they stroll down the campus. something about holding hands while taking a morning stroll felt oddly domestic. but the fake dating switch was off at the moment so yeonjun had to convince himself this was all for show.

“i know you are, but i want to learn how to do shit on my own now. i’m growing up. my whole life, i’ve depended on my rich parents to hand their money to me but i don’t want to be that person anymore. i think this will really help me, beom.”

beomgyu looks at him full of worry. yeonjun examines his morning face, which is still as beautiful as his cleaned up face. his morning face was just a bit dull, and his under eyes were slightly darker than the night before, making yeonjun wanting to scold him for not sleeping enough. he swears he could examine every inch of his face, claiming to never grow tired of it, but he can’t help but get upset at the frown he’s wearing.

“what? why the long face, what’s wrong?” yeonjun tilts his head to the side to get a better angle of the smug look on beomgyu’s face. he diverts his attention from the pebble he’s been kicking the whole perimeter of the campus and pays close attention to the frown on beomgyu.

“hyung, i’m worried about you...” he whispers, squeezing yeonjun’s hand tighter. “i don’t want you to overwork yourself, or lose sleep. and i don’t want to lose time with you either which sounds selfish but it’s true. i hate seeing you overworked and stressed, seriously. i just wish sometimes you’d think a bit about yourself more...” he simpers in an ingratiating manner. a bit of him was obviously coy to letting known his thoughts but yeonjun was sure to make him comfortable.

yeonjun pulls them to the side of the sidewalk so that they’re sitting on the bench. “look, i know. i understand where you’re coming from. but i will promise you, this time i wont overwork myself. i’ll give myself a break when i need it. but i will also give myself extra hours when i need it as well. i promise i’ll take care of myself, okay? you don’t have to worry about me.”

beomgyu hesitantly nods his head before squeezing yeonjun’s hand. “fine. i hope you stay true to your word and take care of yourself. otherwise i will.” he teasingly says before pecking yeonjun’s cheek. “but i’m proud of you, hyung. i really am.”

“thank you, beomie.” he pecks the top of the younger boy’s hair as he rests his head on yeonjun’s shoulder.

this felt right. sitting with beomgyu on a bench, on a early saturday sunny morning. every bit of it felt right. it felt domestic and real, but of course it wasn’t entirely the truth. they still withheld the fake dating facade in fear of someone catching them, but yeonjun wishes that it didn’t have to be that way.

that he could hold beomgyu with confidence. that he could hold him freely with no more concealed lies. but as soon as those thoughts begin infiltrating yeonjun’s head, he snaps out of it and pushes the thoughts out because he was not allowed to think of his best friend that way. he tries to convince himself that he only craves the feeling of being held. nothing else.

* * *

right after beomgyu and yeonjun’s stroll around the campus, yeonjun gets a call from taehyun and beomgyu gets a call from huening kai both saying they need help from their hyung’s with their homework. it had been a recurring cycle now for the two to rely on beomgyu and yeonjun instead of relying on each other for help on homework. it’s not that the two older hyung’s minded, but their concern was more of that the fight was dragging out longer than it should be, worrying the two. huening kai and taehyun always help each other with homework, though they can hardly even tolerate each other in the same building now, let alone room.

which is why yeonjun and beomgyu are sat at their kitchen table, taking a break from what was an hour of tutoring. “hyung, trust me i love helping hyuka with his homework, i don’t mind. but this is seriously starting to drive me crazy. it’s always _taehyunnie taught me a different way. thats not how taehyunnie does it._ like no fuck, hyuka! because i’m not your taehyunnie! i’m beomgyu-hyung! why can’t they just go back to being best friends like us.” he cries, exhausted at the drama that the two are prolonging.

soobin is sat next to both of them, immersed at the conversation that the two are having. “yeah that’s cool and all but yeonjunnie-hyung, are you allowed to give me free coffee with your new job or what?” he taps his pencil against the wooden table, eyes glued on the item instead of averting his eyes to yeonjun. “cause if not then that’s just a waste.”

yeonjun was usually a patient person. but each and every day his brothers test it to the point where it’s wearing thin. “you ungrateful little ass. but for your information, yes. i do get free coffee each shift but you’re still gonna have to pay for yours cause i’m giving mine to beomgyu.”

beomgyu sticks his tongue out at soobin who then rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out back at the boy, with ten times more sass. “i hate it here.” he complains, dropping his pencil as if he’s given up at everything at this point.

the three were bored out of their mind. taehyun was in his room for his study break, probably being entertained by eunji, and huening kai found shelter in his own room for the remaining twenty minutes before the two older hyung’s resume to teaching them again. yeonjun, soobin, and beomgyu were losing their mind at the awkward atmosphere even though the two boys were in their separate rooms. that is how thick the tension was in this apartment. 

the three are unaware of what to do to entertain each other for the next twenty minutes, so it is no shock when yeonjun sees beomgyu casually pouring his bottle of water in the kitchen table plant.

“gyu! what are you doing, oh my god! are you a child?” yeonjun shouts, frustrated when he sees the water overflow the pot and soil water begins spouting out on the kitchen table.

“can’t you see i’m watering the plants!” he argues back, holding the bottle of water right in his hands as yeonjun tries to discard it from his possession but the younger boy is a tough fighter. “i’m bored! there’s nothing to do! and the plant looks thirsty!”

“well you’re fucking drowning it!” yeonjun retaliates, annoyed at beomgyu for not putting down a fight, creating a mess of water and weirdly clumped soil on the table.

“okay, you guys seriously act like a married couple, oh my goodness. your relationship is seriously fooling me every time i see you guys, it seems so real...” soobin voices out, creating awkward tension as beomgyu and yeonjun are unaware how to react to his comment. soobin realizes how his comment changed the atmosphere, so he is quick to add on, “and by the way.... that plant is literally fake. none of us here can even remember to water plants so i bought fake ones. that’s why the soil looks like that, it’s not even fucking real.” soobin cups his mouth with his palm, pointing at beomgyu’s mistake.

“you’re watering a fake plant! you’re so stupid, you dummy.” soobin bursts out in louder laughters, clutching his stomach as he teasingly points at beomgyu.

beomgyu’s scoots his chair closer to yeonjun to seek comfort and yeonjun is quick to defend the boy. “hey! you shut it, and stop bullying my fake boyfriend. you meanie,” he furrows his eyebrows while pouting, rubbing beomgyu’s arms up and down as he coddles him.

“fine, whatever. i don’t care anyways,” soobin crosses his arms in a pout. “buttttt.... you know what i do care about?” he whispers, hunching over the table to cup a hand around his mouth in a whisper, “the fact that eunji is always over. i love taehyun with all my heart, hyung but he always has her over and it’s seriously killing my vibe. she eats all my food especially my bread without asking. and i don’t even care if she eats it! she just has to ask! but she fucking doesn’t! and her and tae are always using the tv but most of the time they’re making out, and worst of all, it makes hyuka sad.”

yeonjun knew how important huening kai was to soobin. soobin would never admit it out loud but he loved and cared for his little brother. they were attached by the hip. they were like gum. so of course soobin was going to feel a little iffy about taehyun and his new girlfriend. but soobin was also happy for his friend. taehyun hasn’t looked this happy in a while, but he couldn’t be spending all twenty four hours of his day with his girlfriend when he had two roommates living with him.

“look... i know. i know it’s hard on you, especially on huening kai but you also have to let taehyun know your boundaries. which you are not doing. you’re just letting him go over your head and that’s enabling him to keep doing this, because none of you guys are saying anything.” yeonjun explains, and soobin’s face drops. he hates confrontation. he loves taehyun but having his girlfriend over most of the time gets kind of annoying.

he just doesn’t have the heart to tell him.

“oh shit, speaking of...” beomgyu’s whispers, leaning his head on yeonjun’s shoulder.

the three of them turn their head and see both huening kai and taehyun (with eunji) stepping out of their rooms, hardly even acknowledging each other.

“damn those twenty minutes went by fast.” soobin says under his breath.

“why do you keep looking at him?” eunji rudely asks huening kai, and everyone’s eyes go wide.

huening kai though in fact, was staring very hard at taehyun for an unknown reason, but the three hyung paid close attention to their conversation because they knew something was about to go down. all that was missing was popcorn.

“woah relax,” huening kai looks at her dirtily. “just seems a bit disrespectful to me that you two can’t even last twenty minutes without keeping your hands to yourselves. seriously don’t be doing shit when there’s other people in the apartment, it’s disgusting.” huening kai bites back and taehyun looks highly offended by his words.

“hyung, should we do something...” beomgyu’s whispers in his ear.

“shhhh...” soobin shushes beomgyu who then gets offended and goes to yeonjun for comfort.

yeonjun is confused as to what huening kai is referring to, and its isn’t until he notices both of eunji’s and taehyun’s purpling bruised necks. those bruises were definitely not there twenty minutes ago, and the color seemed very fresh for a love bite.

“w-we didn’t even do anything... just made out. that’s all.” taehyun voices, straightening up his tall, lithe figure. “literally you don’t have to point out every fucking step we take, alright! maybe if you learned to mind your own business, this shit would never happen.”

soobin rises from his seat and stands next to huening kai in fear of something happening and beomgyu’s follows his hyung’s lead, standing in between the argument separating the two.

“okay, guys. let’s calm down a bit.” beomgyu suggests, but it is completely ignored.

“but it is my fucking business when it’s under a roof that i’m sleeping in! it’s disrespectful seriously, and full offense to you but you don’t even live here!” he points at eunji who is gripping taehyun’s arms.

“grow the fuck up,” taehyun sneers, clenching his jaw.

“both of you, relax. calm the fuck down.” yeonjun raises his voice, and all the boys look at yeonjun full of fear, the same way a mother’s children would after getting scolded.

“y’know what? two days. give me two days and i’m packing my shit out of this apartment.” he turns his back and rushes to his bedroom door with eunji waddling behind him.

“taehyun...” beomgyu calls out but all the boy does is ignore him and slams his door.

“oh shit...” soobin and beomgyu say in unison.

“i’m going to my room.” huening kai’s voice breaks as he tries to turn his head in attempt to hide his tears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nowwwww.... how was it....??? don’t get too comfy w the beomjun fluff though, remember this IS an angst book hehe😈😈
> 
> again i’m sorry for not updating last week but i will be on track! thank you for everyone who is always commenting and supporting 
> 
> and like i mentioned in the last chapter, please do not turn a blind eye to the black lives matter movement and please educate yourself and sign petitions! speak out! to any of my black readers, i am here for you and i love every single one of you <3 
> 
> let me know ur thoughts about jinae, tyunning, eunji, and everything elseeee hehehe 
> 
> also please be on the lookout for my taegyu one shot!! i don’t have a date yet but it will be out soonnn!! 
> 
> see you next chapter! <3


	18. platonic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello everyoneeee!!! i am back yet again with another chapter ! 
> 
> as we say goodbye to eternity:(( i will start writing more short aus or oneshots and possibly some other fics too to keep the fandom entertained during drought season hehe so please leave me some prompts bc is be more than happy to write more aus for you! 
> 
> and as a lot of you guys don’t know my name and call me author-nim or author person, which is super cute!! i’ve decided to go by an author name??? if that makes sense??? you guys can call me arden <3 
> 
> and also to all my readers, i’ve said this before but please do not apologize in ur comments for not being able to comment in the last chapter or for apologizing about not having a longer comment! please do not worry about it!!! take care of yourselves! 
> 
> *IMPORTANT*  
finally! my long awaited taegyu au will FINALLY be coming out next week!! super excited! a bit warning though it is on the angsty side so there’s that and it will be coming out at the same time i publish this chapter! SO EXCITED PLS GIVE ME FEEDBACK IVE WORKED HARD ON IT:) 
> 
> here are today’s set of qotds!:
> 
> 1.) as we wrapped up this new era, what was your favorite part of eternity? (outfits, music, variety shows, etc) 
> 
> 2.) what next concept would you like to see for their next comeback? 
> 
> 3.) have any of you guys changed ur biases after this era? before and after who was it? 
> 
> happy reading babies <3

yeonjun and beomgyu were hesitant on leaving soobin alone with the two feuding maknaes, so they volunteered to stay the night and try to convince taehyun to change his mind in the morning and have the two youngest boys heal their ongoing fight. it wasn’t a problem to beomgyu or yeonjun either. of course, beomgyu was a little uneasy knowing taehyun wanted to pack all his stuff out in two days so he suggested the idea to yeonjun if they could stay the night.

yeonjun, quick to realize beomgyu’s hesitancy, immediately agreed with the idea and was ready to sacrifice his poor back to lay on the boys’ hard living room couch for yet another night. yeonjun and beomgyu usually shared the living room couch each time they slept over. which is why they were currently searching for blankets and pillows for the night. beomgyu always liked being tucked in the inside portion of the bed, sleeping on yeonjun’s forearm while being tucked into his chest. leaving yeonjun with no choice but to sleep out the outside portion of the couch. it’s not like he minded anyways.

when the two were settled into the makeshift bed, also known as the couch, beomgyu turns around so that he’s facing yeonjun. he tries to search for yeonjun’s eyes in the dark, immediately finding them because they glimmered as bright as ever. even in the dark.

he brought his hand to slightly wrap around yeonjun’s waist, lifting his shirt just by an inch so he could draw little comforting circles on the left side of his waist.

“hyung...” he whispers to yeonjun who has just closed his eyes.

“hmm? what’s wrong, gyu? are you uncomfortable with the position? i can move to the floor if you want, love.” he groggily says, eyes still closed.

“no, no. you’re fine, hyung. i like our position.” beomgyu assures, taking a second to look at their position as they are entangled in each other’s arms with just a space as thin as a hair-strand separating them. “i was just... i don’t know, i’m just so worried.” his voice shakes.

yeonjun slightly opens his eyes to find beomgyu’s in the dark, which wasn’t too difficult as they had tears welling in them. “babe, don’t cry...” yeonjun whispers, using his thumb to rid the tears. “i know you’re worried. hell, i am too. those kids have been friends since they could crawl, so you don’t think i’m worried with everything going on either? hell, i’m worried as fuck. but right now, this is in their hands, and we can only do so much to help. so don’t beat yourself up over it. i know you love them both, so much. but please, don’t cry because you know i don’t like seeing you this way,” yeonjun cards his fingers through beomgyu’s hair, who in turn very delicately leans into the touch, finding refuge in yeonjun’s chest.

“th-thank you, hyungie...” he sniffles, voice muffled as his head is on yeonjun’s chest. “sorry, i just get emotional when it comes to these things but you always know how to make me feel better when it comes to this. thank you.” the younger boy says in a deflated tone.

he leans over and plants a kiss on yeonjun’s right cheek.

yeonjun is a bit taken aback.

beomgyu is usually not one to initiate physical contact much, so to say yeonjun was a bit startled by the boy’s action was a complete understatement.

ignoring the action, yeonjun shrugs it off and sticks it into his head that beomgyu was just learning how to be a physically affectionate best friend, and was getting even more comfortable because of the fake dating antics they had going on.

“okay, go to bed now, gyu. goodnight, angel.”

“goodnight, hyung.”

* * *

yeonjun wakes up to beomgyu’s hand grabbing a fistful of his shirt and shaking him to wake up. usually, he’d groan in annoyance at beomgyu from waking him up so early from his sleep, but something about the way beomgyu was shaking him felt alarmingly urgent.

“hyung, look.” he lets out in a raspy tone, morning voice still evident. he points to the front door to see taehyun walking with eunji who is holding flat brown boxes and masking tape.

yeonjun’s eyes widen.

“shit..” yeonjun whispers to himself, bringing both of his eyes to cup his face before groaning into them, and he could feel beomgyu dropping his cheek back into his chest. “bub, we gotta get up. i know you’re sleepy but we can’t let him leave. at least not right now.”

“mmm....” beomgyu hums, head still on yeonjun’s chest.

“look, i’m gonna go talk to taehyun. okay? maybe you can talk to huening kai... talk some sense into him or have soobin help. just— don’t let any of them leave the apartment right now,” the older boy hastily says, tugging his sweatshirt over his head before putting on his slippers to make his way into the room in which taehyun and eunji are in.

“okay... f-five minutes...” he mumbles, still half asleep, upset at the fact that he no longer gets to use yeonjun’s chest as a pillow.

“you sleepybutt, you better be up in five minutes. i’m trusting you on this, beomie.” he smirks, giving beomgyu’s bum a little smack.

“i willlllll.”

yeonjun has to give himself a little pep talk before walking his way in front of taehyun and huening kai’s door. he’s unsure of what he’ll do or say, but what he knows for certain is that the boy is not going to leave and pack up his shit from the apartment without talking things through with his little brother. the two younger boys were far too important to yeonjun for them to break off a friendship this quick. it wasn’t going to happen on yeonjun’s watch. it just wasn’t.

he takes a deep breath, before raising his fist to knock on the door.

within three seconds he hears a small voice, “come in!” taehyun yells from the other side of the wall.

yeonjun twists the knob to see taehyun folding his clothes and eunji folding the boxes and taping them down. taehyun turns his head to the door, connecting his eyes with yeonjun, before resuming back to folding his clothes.

“you know, on second thought you could step back out...” he says facetiously, but yeonjun knows the reason behind his sardonic tone.

“hey, come on now...” yeonjun softly says, closing the door behind him. eunji looks at him awkwardly.

“look, can i talk to you in private?” he walks towards their way, hoping eunji would get the hint, but she stands in front of him with her arms-crossed, waiting for taehyun’s signal.

taehyun looks at yeonjun, then at eunji, and back at yeonjun before releasing a loud sigh and putting a pause to folding his clothes. “yeah, sure... of course.” he gives in, looking at eunji, “babe, can you wait outside or something? or you can go grab us food you were asking for earlier while you’re waiting. i’m sure this will take a while.”

“fine. text me when you’re done.” she tries to suppress an eye roll but yeonjun is quick enough to catch it. she heads for the door and slams it shut, a tad bit too hard.

yeonjun takes small strides towards taehyun’s section of his room, and his heart already hurts at how empty taehyun’s and huening kais’s room looks. their room used to scream each of their personalities, but right now it just seemed so dull.

“hey... are you-”

“look, whatever you’re gonna say won’t make me change my mind.” he cuts yeonjun off, avoiding eye contact as his focus is on folding his clothes.

“taehyun.... really? do you really want to do this? i mean, you’re leaving without talking shit through. c’mon. you guys are teenagers. there’s better ways than to sort this shit out.” the older boy approaches him in a soft tone, not trying to sound threatening in any way.

“hyung, i have other shit to deal with and problems that are hard to resolve. just let me do this,” he says, exhausted. yeonjun can sense there’s something wrong.

“look... me and the guys hate to see you this way. just last night beomgyu was crying to me because it broke his heart seeing his two little brothers fight this way. and soobin is caught in-between this whole thing. he loves the both of you, deeply. and i know how much you care about huening kai, and how much he cares about you. just please, notice how strong your friendship is. i’d hate for anything bad to happen between you two.” he reaches over and gives taehyun’s arms a little rub, and he could sense the boy gnawing at his bottom lip to show any emotion.

“is... is there something wrong, taehyunnie?” yeonjun says in a comforting tone.

taehyun’s folding comes to a halt. 

he looks at yeonjun before huffing. “everything’s. fine.” he says rather sharply. yeonjun could feel the bite to his tone.

“taehyun, you know. if there’s something going on, you can tell me, right?” the older boy places his hand on taehyun’s shoulder invitingly to make him feel comfortablewithin the conversation.

“hyung....” he says on edge, voice breaking.

“it’s okay, you can trust me.” yeonjun whispers, heart aching at seeing taehyun struggling with his words.

“hyung... you know,” he sighs, burying his face into the palm of both of his hands. “you know you’re not the only one with unsupportive parents, right? like it fucking sucks, so bad.” he cries, wiping his tears under his eyes as if it would stop the flow of the continuous lake streaming.

yeonjun’s heart breaks.

it was something he could deeply relate to, a wound just so fresh. it was just recently where he had to stand up to his parents and admit his sexuality, stating that he in fact was attracted to men. receiving the most unsupportive feedback is what he feared the most, but in the end, it was what he got. his heart was hurting for taehyun.

“w-what do you m-mean?” yeonjun stutters, taken aback by taehyun’s admission.

“i mean that my mother is exactly like your fucking mother. she asked me why i spend so much time with hyuka and was so affectionate with him. and i told her that it was only because we’re best friend and that’s what best friends do! and she said that if i ever pulled some funny business and fell in love with a man then she wouldn’t hesitate to disown me. do you know how scary that fucking is, hyung? do you know how scary that is hearing that from your own fucking mother? so fucking scary,” he sobs uncontrollably, and that was yeonjun’s cue to hold the crying boy in his arms, rubbing comforting circles on his head. taehyun felt like a little brother to him. taehyun was a little brother to him. it was painful seeing him this way, and it wasn’t until a few more moments until taehyun was able to speak up again. “and it was perfect timing as i met eunji, so i was like why not give this a try? so i did. and ever since she came around, huening kai has been acting different and shit just got so personal up until this point. it’s fucked up.”

“taehyun...” yeonjun calls his name out worriedly. “love, why have you been keeping this in this whole time? i told you, you can talk to me. i’m sorry you had to keep that in,” he whispers, pecking the boy’s forehead. “but do you love eunji, taehyun? do you have feelings for her? because i don’t want you to be with someone you don’t love just because you want to prove someone wrong. and listen, if you love boys, then who gives a fuck? it’s not a problem to any of us. i promise.”

taehyun looks around the room to stall, unable to find the words to respond. “fuck, i don’t know? i just thought i’d try. i’ve never felt attracted to girls, but maybe my eomma was right and i’m just confused? so i just thought i’d try with eunji, but shit is just so confusing right now.”

yeonjun feels for taehyun. it’s not easy trying to figure out who you are. it is a colossal mystery known to mankind. it was like a never ending puzzle piece, but at some point we have to try things out to see what’s for us and not. and taehyun was doing exactly that.

“look, i’m so proud of you for trying to figure things out. but listen to me. whoever you are, all four of us will accept you. and if you choose to tell your mother in the end and she disowns you as she claims, you are our family now. you have been and you always will be. you lose one you gain one.” taehyun was tucked into the crook of yeonjun’s neck so his cries were all muffled, but yeonjun’s heart still broke at seeing the boy so vulnerable.

“hyung, i love you so much for that. but you need to understand, my mother is all i have left. my father is gone. she’s all i have. and i can’t lose her either.” he screeches into a loud cry, wrapping his fingers around yeonjun’s arm to help him suppress his cries.

“but you have me. you have beomgyu, your best friend. you have soobin, your favorite hyung. and you have huening kai, your other best friend. he’s like your twin. you guys are attached by the hip. you won’t be alone. i promise you.” he assures the doubting boy, and taehyun’s large eyes look at yeonjun like a little puppy.

“yeah, and i’m already fucking this up too.”

“but you’re not! i mean, we all don’t understand your unnecessary attitude, but we don’t care because you’re taehyun and that’s what you do! and we know you don’t actually mean any of what you do or say, but you also have to take accountability of when you do the wrong thing,” he lectures the younger boy who then in turn is ready to listen. “and as for the huening kai thing, of course i care for him because he’s my little brother, but i care for you too. so much. and he’s just upset because ever since you brought eunji around, you’ve been diverting your attention to him and have been avoiding him like hell. he feels like he just lost a best friend, taehyun. and you can’t be bringing her around without the boys’ permission. i know you like her, i know. but you have to work around her and your best friends too.”

taehyun’s mouth hangs open and lets the tears run down his cheek. he doesn’t even try to wipe it anymore because he knows whatever he does won’t stop it from falling down.

“fuck, i know. i’ve been such a dick to hyuka, i feel awful. but all this shit with my mother too has been driving me crazy. i don’t want to lose her but i really don’t want to lose huening kai either. i’m sorry, hyung...” he apologizes, leaning into yeonjun’s arms.

“hey, don’t be sorry. you’re going through some stuff, but this isn’t me excusing you’re actions. this is just me being empathetic because i understand how you feel. and don’t put all the blame on yourself. this is a two-way street. huening kai said some hurtful stuff to you too. i just wish you guys would work things out before you make a decision as big as moving out and rooming with your girlfriend.” he holds taehyun in his arms to comfort the boy. something about taehyun crying never settled right in his stomach.

“god, i know. i-i don’t even know where to start.”

“here... how about you pause on the packing for now, and tomorrow all five of us will have a talk. you say what you need to say, apologize for what you want to apologize for, and we will listen to both of you, i promise. but please, pause on the packing, taehyunnie. you don’t even have to stay the night if you don’t want, but just hold on it, okay?” he advises in a lovingly tone, and taehyun takes much comfort in the way yeonjun is aiding him.

“thank you, hyung.”

* * *

when yeonjun and beomgyu arrive home later that afternoon, yeonjun immediately wishes there were a pair of earplugs laying around their apartment. it was just impossible to tolerate beomgyu’s unstoppable bickering. in the car, on the way home, and up the stairs, beomgyu kept nagging yeonjun about what taehyun and he conversed about.

“hyunnggg! just tell me what taehyunnie said. he kinda doesn’t want to tell me and i’m severely offended because i’m his best friend other than hyuka. i promise i won’t say,” he clings onto yeonjun as they’re in his bed trying to take a nap. well, yeonjun is trying but beomgyu is doing an immaculate job at distracting him.

“gyu, i told you. we’d talk about it tomorrow. all five of us, okay? so why dont you wait until then,” he flicks beomgyu on the forehead who then scrunches his nose at the stinging feeling. “and i know taehyun’s your best friend and that doesn’t mean he doesn’t trust you. he’s just a little hesitant to talk about things he’s not ready to talk about, okay? so don’t feel too down.” he assures beomgyu, who then goes under the covers to join yeonjun in his nap.

“hmm... fine... i guess,” he pouts, wrapping his small arms around yeonjun’s waist. and yeonjun is very quick to squeeze into the touch. again, he is shocked at the initiation but he is too tired to call it out.

“hyung, you’re so warm.” beomgyu nuzzles his head at the back of yeonjun’s neck, and the older boy feels himself smiling sheepishly into the covers. “also, i have something to ask you.”

“there it is...” yeonjun smirks with his eyes closed, attempting to fall into a deep sleep but beomgyu kept trying to talk to him.

“huh?”

“you’re being so clingy to me. you were either just being clingy to be clingy , or you either needed something. so... this time, what is it you need?” he turns around so that he is facing beomgyu, who’s cheeks are burning bright red at yeonjun’s beautiful dissection of beomgyu’s personality.

“um...” he chews on his lip, trying to avoid the intimidating gaze yeonjun was giving him. “i kind of um... jihyun, he...”

“he what?” yeonjun answers back alarmingly fast.

“he kinda invited me to a party tonight? and i just wanted to ask your permission if i could go? i mean, i don’t know i’m not the party type but i just wanted to go since jihyun was the one who invited me. i’ll be responsible, i promise,” he holds his hand up in solidarity and juts his bottom lip out in a pout.

yeonjun is unaware as to why his heart drops at the mention of beomgyu and jihyun being alone at a college party.

“oh, of course. i mean, i’m not your mom nor your boyfriend so you don’t need my permission, bub... i just, i really want you to be careful, okay? i trust you.” he leaves a small kiss on the boy’s forehead for the nth time today.

“really?” the younger boy looks at him with puppy dog eyes.

“of course. just let me know when you get there. drinking is up to you. but please don’t smoke. you know how much i fucking hate that shit. and if you need me to pick you up, just ring hyung and i’ll be there.”

“i will yeonjunnie-hyung! i’ll be so careful. and i won’t smoke, i promise. i don’t even do that stuff anyways and never will. i’ll be responsible. thank you, thank you,” he exclaims, showering yeonjun’s face in kisses. pecking every single corner and inch of his face.

yeonjun liked it. just a little.

* * *

beomgyu should have listened to soobin when he told him not to go to the party. soobin knew parties really werent beomgyu’s type, so he was just looking out for him, but of course beomgyu was as stubborn as can be.

to say that he was growing anxious was an understatement. jihyun has been by his side the whole time, but that hasn’t stopped the three boys who have grabbed his bum this past hour. if his yeonjun-hyung were with him, he would have handled it completely different.

beomgyu has already decided he wasn’t going to drink. he wasn’t much of a drinker anyways and he had to keep an eye on jihyun who was already on his fourth shot, just an hour into the party. the party was making beomgyu anxious. the amount of boys who have tried to get at him was alarming. the music and sweaty bodies were definitely not helping either. and the number people who have tried to offer him a drink was alarmingly high.

but jihyun held his hand the whole time, and beomgyu would be lying if he said he hated it. in fact, he swore he could feel butterflies everytime jihyun squeezed his hand.

“hey, you doing okay?” jihyun slightly slurs in beomgyu’s ear, raising his volume to talk over the music.

“yeah, fine.” he replies back, slightly miffed but conceals it with a smile right away.

jihyun leads them to the kitchen, possibly to get another drink and beomgyu has to pass the body of sweaty dancing bodies once again to get to the fridge of alcohol. this wasn’t fun for him at all. if only he listened to his soobin-hyung.

“woahhh. this your man, jihyun? what a cutie. tell me when you’re done with him. i want a go.” some guy with ash blonde hair walks up to jihyun and smirks. beomgyu is disgusted by the boy’s choice of words, and he knew if yeonjun were here, the boy would have already punched this person’s nose in.

he was hoping jihyun would at least call out the boy’s lewd words but all he does it laugh at the comment. “shut up, man,” he chuckles, pouting himself a drink before offering beomgyu one, who quietly decline. “and no. this is my friend, beomgyu.” he introduces the silver-haired boy, who very shyly waves back and nods his head.

“you have a boyfriend, babe?” he leans awfully close into beomgyu’s face, to the point where the tip of his nose is slightly touching beomgyu’s cheek. he’s highly uncomfortable and is a bit upset at jihyun for not doing anything, but beomgyu lets it pass because it’s probably the alcohol that is making him so unaware. 

“um, yeah... i do actually,” he replies a bit nastily, aggravated at the boy’s cockiness and arrogance. he couldn’t stand another second in this conversation.

“oh, who?” he asks in a satirical tone, unbelieving of beomgyu’s admission.

“choi yeonjun.”the man raises his eyebrows in shock at the name and holds his hands up in defense as he backs up.

“woahhh. choice yeonjun as in dance department, yeonjun? because if so, i’ll see my way out. i’m not tryna get fucked up. he’s a beast in everything he does bro.” the boy tells jihyun, who then rolls his eyes at the praise of yeonjun.

beomgyu didn’t know yeonjun was so well-known around campus.

“sorry bout that. w-want another d-drink?” jihyun slurs his words once again, and beomgyu feels like more of a babysitter than a partygoer if anything.

“no, jihyun. i don’t want to drink. remember?” beomgyu tells him and jihyun downs another shot.

the next thirty minutes, he had to follow jihyun around the house to stop him from jumping in the pool, taking his clothes off, or stealing people’s drinks. it was not fun at all. this was not how he envisioned a college party with his crush. babysitting him instead of having fun with him was definitely not how he planned this to go. as bad as taking care of him was, he couldn’t help but smile to himself and observe how jihyun was when he was cute. his cheeks were flushed pink and he did stupid shit, but stupid shit that made him look cute.

beomgyu keeps an eye on jihyun until he feels a vibrate in his back pocket and pulls it out to read the message.

**baby💕**   
_heyyy it’s almost 2am and i’m tryna wait up for u but i’m feelin a bit sleepy so just in case i’m asleep before you arrive i just wanted to say goodnight <3 hope you’re having fun. i love you _

** love💞**  
_ohhh go to bed hyung:) i’ll be there when you wake up. sleep well. goodnight <3 i love you._

beomgyu has been at this party for almost two hours, and nothing has made him smile more than the small little text yeonjun has sent.

that and holding jihyun’s hand the whole way through the party.

at the thought of jihyun, he looks six feet ahead of him and catches the boy trying to down a whole bottle of vodka down his throat, and that’s when he knows it’s time for him to stop.

“alright, that’s enough. come with me, we’re going home.” he grabs him from the kitchen and talks in a deflated tone.

this was the last time was going to do this.

“n-noooo! i’m s-still partyinnggg,” he slurs, dragging out his words until they sound like gibberish in the end.

“nuh-uh. come on,” he pulls him by the shirt and pulls out his phone to book an uber.

he drags jihyun by his sleeve and pushes people out of his way to reach the front door. he pulls him all the way out into the lawn where he phones for an uber, and as he’s doing so, jihyun is using the bush as a barf bucket and beomgyu can’t help but scrunch his nose at how disgusting this was.

“s-sorry...” he apologizes like a little kid, and beomgyu can’t even find himself to get upset at such a cute person.

“agh, it’s okay. it’s fine. it’s one less thing to take care of. let’s get you home,” beomgyu’s lifts jihyun’s hand over his neck to use it as support.

* * *

the car ride home was a bit chaotic.

jihyun has his head out the window and puked at least two times before they could even reach their destination. beomgyu had to apologize numerous time to their uber driver and had to tip him extra for jihyun’s antics.

beomgyu has to drag jihyun up the stairs with him, and had to fiddle in the boy’s pockets to look for his keys. it wasn’t fun. he’s never had to take care of a drunk person like this, ever.

yeonjun got drunk occasionally, though he knew when to control his alcohol. and unlike jihyun, yeonjun was a quiet drunk who was always clingy. taking care of drunk yeonjun was much more fun than taking care of drunk jihyun. jihyun was high maintenance. all drunk yeonjun needed was a couple of cuddles and tissues and he was set for the night.

as they reached his room, beomgyu had to change jihyun’s clothes, until he found out jihyun only slept in his boxers. less work for him.

“beomieee... come here.... i need to tell you somethinggggg,” he slurs, eyelids falling heavier as if they were fighting the heaviness.

“yes, hyung... what is it?” beomgyu goes along with it, sitting on the bed of his foot.

“you p-promiseee to keep it s-secrettt?” he giggles, cupping his cheeks coyly.

“oh, i promise. now what is it...”

“okay sooo...” jihyun chuckles, getting giddy as he hides his face into his pillow from squirming too much.

“what is it!” beomgyu grows a bit impatient and he laughs because jihyun’s is contagious.

“i..... have a big... fat.... crush....” he giggles once again, cupping his mouth at the admission.

beomgyu’s heart breaks just a little.

“oh really? on who?“

“hmmm.....” jihyun hums.

“c’mon.... i’ll keep it a secret.” the silver haired boy chuckles, pushing out jihyun’s hair on his forehead to prevent sweat from building up.

“you.”

* * *

beomgyu later on crashes on jihyun’s couch for four hours before booking an uber back to his apartment. which is why he arrives at 7am, leaving yeonjun all worried.

“god, you couldn’t have at least texted?” yeonjun scolds him worriedly, being the first thing he says to beomgyu as he walks through the door.

“hyung, i’m sorry. i really am. i just had to take care of jihyun because he was wasted and i didn’t want to leave him by himself in his condition. but if you’re wondering, no i did not drink. and honestly that will probably be the last time i’ll go to a college party. a lot of boys tried touching my ass and some dude even tried asking if i had a boyfriend and once i told them you were my boyfriend they backed up right away. but yeah i didn’t drink and i just took care of jihyun i should have texted, i’m sorry,” the younger boys explains all in one breath, hoping to not get in trouble by yeonjun.

“are you fucking kidding me? next time, take me with you. i can’t stand assholes doing that to you, my goodness. you should have called me if you were uncomfortable. i would have drove there, i don’t care what time. fucking assholes. but you’re fine. you just scared me because you weren’t texting. i thought something happened to you,” he shakily says, genuinely scared pulling beomgyu by the back of his neck into a hug.

“but uh... hyung, something happened,” he clutches his fingers behind his back like a little kid and rocks back and forth on his heels and toes.

yeonjun’s eyes go wide once he gains the wrong impression and beomgyu is quick to correct him. “nothing bad of course!” he exclaims with his hands up.

“oh... then what was it?” yeonjun groans, still tired as he scratches his head.

“um... last night when i was taking care of jihyun... he kinda told me he had a secret. he then uh, he kind of um... admitted that he has a crush on me...” beomgyu admits, biting his tongue to stop himself from screaming in excitement.

yeonjun’s heart drops.

beomgyu attempts to read the expression on his face but it is unreadable. his mouth is hung open and his eyebrows are furrowed, and within three seconds he begins to smile and congratulate beomgyu.

“th-that’s amazing! r-right?” yeonjun’s voice breaks, but he tries his best to sound happy for beomgyu.

he doesn’t know why there is a weighty feeling on his chest.

“yeah! hyung, i mean i cant thank you enough for doing this fake dating shit with me honestly. i didn’t think it’d work,” he jumps all giddy, but all yeonjun could think about was his best friend finally being handed off into someone else who will love him in a non-platonic relationship.

because that’s all him and beomgyu were.

platonic.

“um, i mean... yeah, of course..” is all he is able to let out. his mouth is too dry and his brain is too empty to be formulating any words.

“so, i think we can do this for at least three more weeks or at least a month, and then come up with a breakup scheme or something? i don’t know.” beomgyu is quick to suggest and the boy is moving too quick for yeonjun to follow.

“y-yeah.. for sure,” yeonjun agrees, at a loss for words.

“it’s so great! right, hyung? do you wanna go out for breakfast and like celebrate or something? or if you’re still too tired we can just sleep in and cuddle while watching movies. i don’t know either way is fun for me, should i order food?”

yeonjun doesn’t know why, but he can’t even look at beomgyu as of now.it’s too hard.

“um, no. actually i think i’ll pass. i’m going to go out for a bit.”

yeonjun needs to clear his head.

“oh? okay. have fun, hyung.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alrighttt well i hope this was okayyy!! i mean things are starting to get a bit rocky and there are a lot of things going on so hopefully this is okay ahahah 
> 
> what did u guys think about this chapter??? is there hope for tyunning??? and beomjun.... how we feeling. i think jinae is my only hope rn hehe
> 
> and please DONT FORGET to check out my taegyu au one shot next week!!! i wont spoil much but it’s a one shot hehe that’s all. it’s super angsty. or no, semi angsty. actually idk 
> 
> please don’t forget to leave your thoughts! and don’t forget to participate in the qotds so we can learn more about each other!!! 
> 
> bye bye eternity:( 
> 
> see you next week! 
> 
> -arden


	19. confessions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiii everyone!!! how is your week going??? 
> 
> i just wanted to make a quick little apology bc this is a filler chapter and some background information so i’m sorry if this chapter is a little boring, i’ll try to make the next chapter better but i am not too proud of this one 
> 
> we are nearing our drought season so feel free to send in au prompts in the comments for aus for me to write to keep some of y’all entertained for this drought 
> 
> *IMPORTANT*  
my taegyu au has now officially dropped!! please give it some love. i worked on it for a long time but just last night i scrapped almost half of it and rewrote it. it is called “history is all we are” and it is on the annggsttyy side bc like i said i am an angst writer so if u are a taegyu shipper, please feel free to read my one shot!! 
> 
> also, thank you sooo mcuhhh for making my book #5 of beomjun fics in the “hits” category. that’s literally super fucking insane to me!! like number five are u kidding!! thank you sooo much x 
> 
> here are today’s set of qotds! 
> 
> 1.) which member do you act most alike and most different from? 
> 
> 2.) do you share any of the same habits from any of the boys? 
> 
> 3.) is there a song from eternity that you wish had a mv but doesn’t? if so which one? 
> 
> happy reading !!

yeonjun rises at four thirty in the morning, preparing for his shift at the cafe. he doesn’t really have much experienceas barista or a cashier, but he trusts jinae enough to be a helping co-worker and guide him through everything he needed to know.

taking a quick shower and styling his hair, he quickly tugs on his uniform, and to be honest, it wasn’t the prettiest thing in the world. the uniform and apron made him look like some posh college student and yeonjun was the complete opposite of that.

his uniform was definitely not one of his favorite parts about the job.

being sure to grab everything he needs for his first day shift at the cafe, he grabs his wallet, phone, and car keys before slinging his bag over his shoulder and attempts to exit his room without waking beomgyu.

but of course, the boy notices yeonjun getting ready to leave early in the morning. way too early, beomgyu concludes. it was before the sun was even ready to rise.

squinting one eye open, beomgyu takes a look at yeonjun through his one opened eye. “hyung, where are you going?” he groggily asks, half asleep.

“i have a shift at the cafe today, babe. go back to sleep, okay?” he whispers, walking over to beomgyu before caressing his hair to help him fall asleep.

“c-can i visit your later?” he asks in a dazed tone, nearly falling back asleep.

“yeah, sure. whatever you want. but go back to sleep, angel. it’s still a bit early, okay?” he softly says before connecting his lips with beomgyu’s forehead. he leaves his lips there for a few more extra seconds before pulling away.

* * *

it turns out, being a cashier wasn’t as difficult as yeonjun thought. he just needed to be good at counting money and needed an extreme amount of patience for the college students who like to add unnecessary difficult orders for their coffee. he’s never seen such different and bizarre combinations of milk and coffee before.

his first day on the job, jinae thought it would be a good idea to take it easy on him and learn how to operate the register first, which didn’t seem to be difficult for yeonjun at all. she later told him that she’d have him be as a barista on his second shift since it was a more complex task and required a bit more memorization and multi-tasking.

on his seventh hour, the cafe began growing more full, it being the lunch hour. he tries to keep on a smile for all the customers, especially the rude one who just rudely hand their money and don’t even say please or thank you. he tries to hear each customer as he fights the through hubbub of voices through the cafe, but this one specific customer seemed to be holding up the line.

“hey, can i get a iced coffee with two shots of espresso, five pumps of vanilla, three pumps of caramel with soy milk, no sugar and please ice only filled three fourths of the way,” she perkily smiles at yeonjun before handing him her card.

yeonjun slickly turns around before sending jinae a regretful smile since she’ll be the one having to make the girl’s very difficult order.

“alright, your order will be ready with us in a few. did you want your receipt?” he gives her a customer service smile, one he’s been getting better at doing.

“no, but i would like your number...” she winks at him and yeonjun begins to feel extremely uncomfortable.

yeonjun sighs at the long line behind him, watching the way it is growing longer since this girl seems to be holding up the line just to flirt her way to yeonjun for his number.

“i’m sorry, ma’am but unfortunately i don’t think i can be able to provide that for you. it is highly unprofessional within the workspace, but what i can offer you is that extremely complicated coffee order that you had just placed two minutes ago.” he gives her a sardonic smile before attempting to help the next customer, but this girl was just so persistent within getting yeonjun’s phone number.

“oh, come on. i’ll wait till your shift is over and ask for it. what time will you be-”

“hi, baby. how’s work?” he hears beomgyu’s voice and he doesn’t even realize beomgyu is the customer behind the girl until he peeks his head behind her. just at hearing beomgyu’s voice, yeonjun’s hard day is immediately brightened up already. “by the way, if you’re done ordering, do you mind moving aside? cause there’s a long line behind you and i’d hate to give the employees, especially this cashier right here, a hard time.” beomgyu boldly says full of spirit to the girl who seems to be taken aback by his words.

“o-oh... i’m s-sorry...” she apologizes to both yeonjun and beomgyu before making her way to the waiting station.

“you look so cute in your uniform and apron, bub.” he cheekily says, eyes disappearing as he smiles at yeonjun wearing his barista outfit. “so... what do you recommend?” beomgyu takes a quick look at the menu.

“possessive much, aren’t you?” he smirks at beomgyu, referring to the previous conversation with the girl who had an extremely difficult coffee order. “and why don’t you get you usual, huh? i’ll use my free drink on you today, babe.”

“how could i not be? she was all over my boyfriend.” beomgyu teasingly winks at him which causes yeonjun’s cheeks to turn just the lightest shade of pink. “and okay, yeah. how bout i just get an iced americano? and no, i’m paying.” he hands yeonjun his card, who is quick to decline it.

“too bad. i already entered my employee discount in.” yeonjun playfully grins at him before handing beomgyu’s his receipt.

“god damn it, he used his free drink on you!” he hears a whine from someone in the line, and he is too focused on working to notice that soobin was behind beomgyu in line. and behind soobin was huening kai, and behind huening kai was taehyun.

god they were so embarrassing.

“okay, well tell me how your first day goes hyung, and call me after your shift, okay?” beomgyu bids his goodbye to yeonjun for the day before he sees him later that night.

“i will, beomie. thanks for stopping by. today was kinda busy and seeing you just relieved my stress a bit.”

“of course, hyungie! i’ll see you later okay?” beomgyu tells him, grabbing his iced americano from the table.

“okay, stay safe.” he tells the silver haired boy before he takes a seat on one of the four seated tables.

“i can help the next customer in line,” he yells out, almost finding it impossible to stop himself from rolling his eyes when he sees soobin and his two other little brothers behind soobin.

“sooo..... uh, i cant get a free drink?”

* * *

once yeonjun unties his apron from around his neck and clocks out during the same time as jinae, he sees her from the side of his eye, eyeing him up and down as if she were examined him.

“hey, you did really good today. i’m impressed, but uh, you looked super off again. is there anything bothering you? can i help with anything? did i go too hard?” she spouts out these numerous amounts of questions that yeonjun finds difficult to answer. “you know you can always talk to me right? about anything, even outside of work. we’re friends before were co-workers.”

“no, no. you didn’t go too hard on me at all. i’m just overwhelmed with a lot of stuff going on between me and beomgyu so it’s been on my mind a lot.” he sighs, taking a seat on one of the couches in the back room after he removes his apron.

jinae removes hers as well and takes a seat next to him.

“talk to me. what’s wrong?” she looks deeply into his eyes, resting her hand on yeonjun’s knee to comfort him.

“i, uh— i haven’t been exactly honest with you, jinae.” he confesses, scratching the back of his neck out of nervousness.

“w-what do you m-mean?” her mouth hangs agape, eyes slightly widening at yeonjun’s sudden admission.

“beomgyu and i...” he trails off, too nervous to finish his sentence.

“mhm...” she softly says as an invitation for yeonjun to comfortably continue.

“we aren’t actually dating.... we’re uh, we’re fake dating.” he winces to himself, scrunching his face, squeezing his eyes tight shut afraid of jinae’s reaction.

“what d-do you m-mean? huh? b-but you talk about him like you’re s-so in love and just the way you l-look at each other...” she stutters and stumbles over her words, words hardly formulating due to the state of shock that she’s in.

“yeah, no. i’m sorry i lied to you. but we’re actually fake dating. i agreed to do it because beomgyu is head over heels for jihyun and he wanted to do it as a way to make him jealous so i said yes because why not?” he shrugs, leaning his back against the cushion of the couch and he doesn’t realize how good that feels after eight hours of non stop standing.

“oh, yeonjun. i’m so sorry. that must be draining for you, but you don’t need to apologize. i’m not upset at all.” she smiles at him full of regret, lovingly rubbing her hand up and down yeonjun’s arm as a form of comfort.

“you’re not?” yeonjun is shocked by her reaction.

“i’m not. but is this bothering you in any way?” she tilts her head at the questions.

“that’s the thing. it’s bothering me so much but i feel like it shouldn’t. y’know? like i have no idea why but i’m so bothered by it but i just am. and it’s not like i can push the feeling away.” he groans in frustration, leaning his head back against the cushion for the nth time that day as he has a staring contest with the ceiling.

“yeonjun... do you possibly, maybe... y’know... like beomgyu?” she raises her eyebrows while suggesting the idea.

“fuck, i.. i don’t know, okay?”

“i don’t know. i mean i see it in your eyes. and just the way you talk about him? like i know you’ve just said it was fake dating the whole time, but you seriously could have fooled me. it all seemed so real.” she holds her hands up in defense.

“it’s okay to feel things, yeonjun i promise.”

“but it’s going to ruin everything, don’t you think? and every time the feeling comes, i try to push it away but it’s just impossible when my heart does that thing every time he does the bare minimum. he can seriously just giggle and i’d be ready to give him the whole world. but he already likes someone else, jinae. i’m not about to be a home wrecker.” burying his face into his hands, he yells out little mumbled screams in it as he feels jinae rub his back.

“yeonjun, you seriously can’t fight love. you can’t deny your feelings cause all that’s going to do is creep up on you and make things ten times worse... and trust me. jihyun isn’t the person you’d want beomgyu to be with.” she looks to the side avoiding yeonjun’s gaze as if she’s hiding something. “trust me, that’s coming from someone who knows him very well.”

“what do you mean?” yeonjun tilts his head to understand jinae better.

“i know the type of person that jihyun is. and he’s not for beomgyu. trust me.” she shrugs, fiddling with her fingers as a form of distraction from the actual conversation.

“he’s very manipulative.” she swallows as if she had just remembered something very vividly.

“huh?” yeonjun’s mouth hangs completely open as if he was lost.

“look, i guess i haven’t been completely honest with you either, okay?” she says back, shaking her leg out of anxiousness.

“talk to me, i’m listening.” yeonjun softly says, placing his hand on top of hers.

“i’ve told you how jihyun and my parents are close. which makes us close somewhat, but not that much. but a couple of years ago, jihyun found something out about me that he’s been threatening to tell my parents if i didn’t do shit for him. so that’s why i had to be his fake date that night, because he blackmailed me and said that if if didn’t, he’d tell my parents my secret. so i did it for him, but than man is so good with manipulation it’s scary. i just don’t want beomgyu being with a person like that.” she explains, making it obviously difficult for her to get through.

something seemed to be bothering jinae.

“i’m so sorry, jinae. that seems like such an asshole move. and i know this isn’t in any of my business, but what is it that you’re hiding from your parents? of course, you don’t have to tell me but i just want you to feel comfortable with me and know that you could confide in me with everything.” he offers her his hand, in which shegladly takes and squeezes.

“oh... uh, i trust you... it’s just hard to say sometimes.”

“it’s okay, i got you. i’m listening...”

“i.. uh... i kind of um— i’m not attracted to you.” she cringes a bit, playing with her fingers and yeonjun is a bit taken a back.

hurt to say the least.

“what? w-why not?” he shrieks, voice raising an octave higher as he is highly offended at her confession.

“no, idiot! i mean that i like girls! that i love girls and that they’re attractive!” she bursts out before hiding head head in her hands and burying herself in to the cushion of the couch.

“o-oh... okay, yeah... that makes more sense.” yeonjun purses his lips together as soon as he gets a better understanding of what jinae was trying to get at.

“my parents are kind of super conservative and old-fashioned and they would completely die if they found out that their only daughter was gay. and jihyun knows that my parents love him so he uses it to his advantage as a way to blackmail me.” jinae loses her energy as the sentence goes on and yeonjun breaks for her.

“hey, listen. i know how hard it is to have parents like that. trust me. you just saw what i went through, right? but you don’t have to feel alone just cause some sick asshole is trying to manipulate the fuck out of you. you have me now, and i’ll help you with whatever it takes. you’re safe with me,” he whispers, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as she leans into the crook of his neck.

“i’m so glad i met you.”

“i am too.”

* * *

beomgyu and yeonjun are making their way to the other apartment, as it was said the night before that all five of them would be having a meeting to discuss taehyun and huening kai’s misunderstanding, but on their quick little pit stop to the convenience store, something very unfortunate happens.

they run into yunho and what seems to be his group of friends.

it was already disturbing enough for beomgyu to run into the guy who broke his heart, but it is far more disturbing that they keep running into him every corner they turn. beomgyu doesn’t like to get reminded of his past relationship that broke him the most.

“beomgyu, can we please just talk? you never gave me a chance to explain.” yunho grabs beomgyu on the wrist and yeonjun is quick enough to pull him away and stand in front of beomgyu’s to protect him front the boy.

“look, we’re busy right now and have somewhere to be. so can you just leave us the fuck alone? have some respect, man.” yeonjun stands in front of beomgyu to protect him from the man.

“look, i don’t think there’s anything to talk about, yunho. i’m happy with my boyfriend, who treats me ten times better than you will ever treat me, and there’s not much for us to say to each other.” beomgyu clutches onto yeonjun’s arm for protection and the older boy secured his touch around beomgyu.

“just five minutes of your time, please.” he pleads, desperation in his eyes.

beomgyu feels a bit awful for not even hearing out the guy.

“fine. but not now. we have to get to our friends. next time you see me on campus, i’ll listen.”

“thank you, thank you.” he clutches his hands together but before beomgyu could say anything else, yeonjun turns them around and walks away from the boy that he so badly wants to punch.

“you’re too nice of a guy, beomie. i don’t know why you give that asshole the time of day when he fucked you up so bad.” yeonjun wraps his arms around beomgyu’s waist just to make sure yunho sees just in case the fool was still looking.

“what if he has something important to say, that i missed? what if there was a reason? this is my way of closure, yeonjunnie.” he leans his head on yeonjun’s shoulder as they begin walking to taehyun’s apartment complex.

“fine. but we’re not going to talk about that right now, okay? cause we need to sort out taehyun and huening kai’s argument. they need to listen and understand each other and we won’t talk about yunho for the rest of the night, got it? this is about our little brothers, not my ex boyfriend.” beomgyu raises his eyebrows at yeonjun waiting for him to answer back.

“fine.”

this was going to be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i know i’m sorry this chapter was slow but it was sort of a filler chapter and a background information type of thing so i’m soorryyy but chapter 19 definitely takes the place of most boring chapter yet hehehe
> 
> but with that being said, please don’t forget to check out my taegyu one shot if you are interested!!!!! i’ve worked super hard on it bc i know some of u have said that ur looking forward to it so pls show me some love !! thank you 
> 
> and feel free to comment ur feedback on my chapter hehe lets chat 
> 
> thank you so much for reading and i’ll see you next chapter!!! 
> 
> -arden <3


	20. make ups and break ups

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone!! super super sorry i skipped out on my update late week i’ve been so busy but i’m back with another update. it’s currently 8am and i havent slept all night bc i wanted to post something for you guys and didn’t want to keep you guys waiting another week. so i’m super sorry if this chapter is sloppy or written poorly:( 
> 
> and also, if you’re into taegyu angst, i have a new au one shot called “history is all we are” please check it out!
> 
> ALSO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING MY BOOK TOP 3 FOR BEOMJUN AUS IN THE “HITS” CATEGORY🥺🥺🥺 with over 6.7k reads oh my goodness that is so absurd thank you🥺
> 
> here are today’s set of qotds: 
> 
> 1.) if you could only listen to three txt songs for the rest of your life, what would it be? 
> 
> 2.) what era got you into txt the most? 
> 
> 3.) what txt song wasn’t performed live that you wanna hear? 
> 
> (i’m sorry if i’ve already asked these questions my brain is blanking bc it’s 8am rn and i havent slept) 
> 
> and that’s ur questions for today! 
> 
> pls tweet me ur thoughts on the new chapter and give me a follow so i can follow back!! let’s become moots! 
> 
> happy reaching <3

beomgyu and yeonjun enter the other apartment hand in hand with their fingers interlocked before they kick off their shoes.

“woah, you guys are taking this fake dating thing so serious... you guys do know that nobody will see you walking in the hallway right? so you don’t have to be holding hands,” soobin snickers as he’s shoving a handful of chips inside of his mouth as his feet are propped against the coffee table while he watches a show. 

“hey, it’s a habit at this point okay? leave us alone you single ass,” yeonjun sticks his tongue out at the boy who’s eyes are glued to the tv.

“uh... you both are technically single too so shut up...” he sasses back, though his tone lacked any true statement.

“whatever... how are the two doing?” beomgyu pushes yeonjun a bit to the right before squeezing into yeonjun’s side and tucking his hand under yeonjun’s arm for warmth. soobin squints at confusion at the domestic action, though chooses to ignore it before diverting his attention to the tv once again.

“i mean... they’re still the same, with less arguing though. last night i had a talk with taehyun and he just cried to me about everything, and my heart broke a little. i seriously hate seeing the two like this. my heart is too weak for any of this. but on another note, i literally had to fucking feed his snake rat pups and i swear i almost cried.” yeonjun and beomgyu’s sympathy immediately disintegrated once soobin had to mention his trauma of having to feed aengdu. it was going all well until he had to end it with that.

“well, i mean that’s why we’re here... i really do think taehyun is doing a bad job in making a decision this quick. they’re both just clueless and handling it so immaturely so i hope this talk will help the two understand... it’s killing me,” beomgyu sighs, dropping his head onto yeonjun’s shoulder as he clasps his fingers around the older boy’s large hands.

“i know, me too.” soobin sighs, gnawing at his bottom lip, obviously upset at the situation taking place. “but in other news, how was work hyung?” soobin turns his head to yeonjun, who’s eyes are locked on his and beomgyu’s hand that are intertwined together. “you never gave me my free drink...” soobin accuses with a bit of bite to his words.

“huh?” he shakes his head to snap himself out of his trance. “oh... exhausting. busy day, and some girl tried hitting on me during work but then i turn around and see all four of you behind her. so that lessened my stress a bit,” he smirks, hating to admit the truth. it hurt his ego a bit to say that his brothers and friends made his day just a tad bit better but he can see soobin teasingly smiling at him and he immediately regrets his words. “and fuck your free drink i told you that you weren’t getting it.”

“aw, hyungie loved seeing us at work. just admit it.” he elbows yeonjun who then in turn smacks soobin upside the head.

“yeah, you did. didn’t you?” beomgyu bats his eyelashes and looks up at yeonjun. “but hyung, look at you. what are we gonna do about this, huh?” beomgyu sits up and cups yeonjun’s cheeks. his thumbs roam around the area under his eyes, and he knows something is wrong when his thumbs sink into yeonjun’s eye bags since they were too deep.

“beomgyu, i told you i’m-”

“fine? you’re fine? really? because the bags under your eyes say otherwise and you’re being so lifeless right now. you yawn every five minutes and you’re barely even taking care of yourself,” he scolds yeonjun, and all he could do is hang his head low. “see, this is why i didn’t want you getting a job because i knew how much you’d overwork yourself and barely even take care of yourself.i told you, i can help you, hyung. but you’re being stubborn it’s worrying me.”

“um i feel like i’m stood in between a married couple that’s arguing and it’s an argument that i am not supposed to witness....” soobin says awkwardly, sitting stiffly on the couch, afraid to receive an outburst from beomgyu the way that yeonjun got.

“look, can we talk about this later? this is not about me right now. this is about the two young ones, so can you please hold on the yelling for now?” yeonjun carelessly says, scooting away from beomgyu and closer to soobin.

beomgyu glares at yeonjun.

“it’s pissing me off how careless you’re being right now.”

yeonjun takes a deep breath, attempting to keep it in but he slightly slams his hand against the table out of frustration.

“careless? seriously? please, enlighten me! how the fuck am i being careless right now? because i’m the one who got a fucking job to help pay for my expenses because i care about us.” yeonjun raises his voice, but not too much in a way that it scared beomgyu. he just raised his voice out of frustration and beomgyu is taken aback.

beomgyu is shocked by how yeonjun refers to them as “us.”

“because i don’t give a shit about any of the fucking money shit! i care about you, stupid! i care about you and your fucking health and here you are getting mad at me for caring about you. i’m only trying to look out for you. and i hate how everytime we talk about this, we argue.” he explains, and beomgyu’s sudden admission unnerves yeonjun.

“guys, c’mon... let’s not argue right now. the boys could be hearing.” soobin chimes in, resting a hand on his older brother.

“fine.” yeonjun crosses his arms.

“hyung...i’m sorry i wasn’t trying to argue, okay? i just care about you, i really do. and i hate seeing you so overworked. i’m sorry if it felt like i was doing any different. you know how much i hate arguing with you, but fine. as of now, i will drop it but once we get home i’m not letting it go over my head.” he quietly says, head hanging low, embarrassed to connect eyes with the older.

“thank you. i’m sorry too, okay? i didn’t mean to snap like that. today was just a busy day and you bringing that up just made me feel upset and it’s wasn’t something i felt like talking about right now.but i’m sorry i raised my voice at you. you have to let me know when i do something like that.” he puts his arm over beomgyu’s shoulder who then leans his head against yeonjun’s chest, loving the music his heart is making against his ear.

“wow... you guys are uh... like a married couple... but you handled that very maturely so applause to you both.” soobin smiles, his eyes disappearing into thin lines as his cheeks grow. “but these two little boys over here do not know how to handle fights the way you do so we need to talk this out with them.” soobin brings back the reason why the two came there in the first place.

“true.” yeonjun carelessly says, pecking the top of beomgyu’s head. “now go get them.”

“what? why me!” soobin whines, slouching his shoulders.

“because i said so.” yeonjun shrugs.

“you can’t just boss me around like that! right beomgyu?” soobin turns his head to the younger boy, hoping he’d vouch for him but beomgyu is far too enamored by yeonjun at the moment. 

“yeah he can,” beomgyu cheekily smiles, pecking yeonjun’s jaw before sticking his tongue out at the older boy. “now go get the two.”

“fine.”

* * *

the five were all awkwardly sat in the living room. taehyun was on the solo couch, huening kai was sat on the floor with soobin, and beomgyu was squished into yeonjun’s side for the life of him. and although nothing about their positions were awkward, the tension in the room was there to say otherwise. it felt almost too suffocating for everyone, and the way their eyes bounced off of each other’s was painfully excruciating.

“so uh... is anyone going to start? cause i sure as hell am not. i’m just here for the show...” soobin looks to the side awkwardly, which results in four of the boys rolling their eyes at his words.

“look, the three of us boys are upset that you two are fighting. you’re the babies of the group so of course every ounce of us is going to want to protect you. but you guys have handled this so immaturely and have failed to communicate with each other which is why we’re talking here tonight. and it may be stupid to you two and may sound silly, but this is the only way for you two to talk to each other without arguing. and if you guys feel like you’re being treated like little kids, then stop acting like one and maybe we wouldn’t treat you like one,” yeonjun voices sternly which seems to tense up huening kai and taehyun.

“im sorry.” huening kai softly says to his older brother.

“i’m sorry we handled it so poorly.” taehyun follows after huening kai.

“aww, hyung that was so cuteee. they sound like little kids.” beomgyu pouts at their behavior and yeonjun tries his best to hold in his smile at beomgyu.

yeonjun holds beomgyu’s cheeks so that his chin is in the valley of his thumb and pointer finger. he squishes beomgyu’s cheeks, “you shush, okay?”

“huening kai, why don’t you start?” yeonjun raises his eyebrows at huening kai who was sitting next to his other brother.

“well, i mean i’ve talked about this before but at first i primarily was just upset at the fact that taehyun brought in a snake without talking to any of us about it first. but then it started getting personal, and i found out he told all of his friends before he told me. we tell each other everything, so of course i was a little hurt.” he takes in a deep breath, and soobin is quick to lend him his hand to hold on to. “and then at one point, it wasn’t even about the snake anymore. and honestly i don’t know if it ever was.

he started getting so distant towards me and avoided me at all costs, at one point i was thinking to myself if i’ve been a bad best friend. and then all of a sudden he comes in here saying that he has a girlfriend. which trust me taehyun, i’m so happy for you, so fucking happy, but once she came around, he acted like i was a fucking ghost. like i wasn’t even there. and he started avoiding me like i was some fucking plague, and i was so upset at myself because i thought i did something wrong. it’s not that i’m jealous, i’m not. i’m so happy for you for finally finding someone who can make you happy, but it hurt me so much that he was acting like i wasn’t even there.

and right when i thought things couldn’t get any worse than that, he tells me he’s moving out of this apartment to room with his girlfriend. that hurt me the most. i felt like he had just abandoned me or something. like he was able to drop everything we had for her. which i understand you like her a lot, but i felt super unappreciated, taehyun. i felt as if you had no problem leaving me at all.

and that felt so scary.”

yeonjun walks over to his brother and holds him in his arms.

he couldn’t bare to see another teardrop rolling down his face. it was simply just unbearable. he held the back of huening kai’s neck tight to his chest and let the younger cry his tears.

it wasn’t fair that his brother felt pain.

but it also hurt him to see taehyun in pain.

“hyuka, i’m so sorry bun that you feel that way.” beomgyu cries, slickly wiping his sleeves under his eyes. “and i’m sure taehyun is too, so why don’t you listen to what he has to say for you, huh?”

“taehyun, tell him what you told me, okay? don’t be afraid. he wouldn’t judge you. ever, and you know that.” yeonjun assures him before taking a seat back on the couch where beomgyu was positioned.

all the other three boys tilt their head at yeonjun’s response because it was obvious that yeonjun knew something the rest didn’t.

“huening kai. i’m so sorry. i’m so fucking sorry i ever made you felt that way. i never want to leave you, at all. you mean the absolute world to me and i hate myself for making you feel that way. i was being an asshole and i was being immature with everything that i did. and you were the last person on this earth that deserved any of what i gave you.

i was— i had, um. i was going through some really tough shit. i had problems i was dealing with within myself personally and i didn’t know what to do. still, it didn’t give me a reason to treat you the way that i did, but when i tell you i wasn’t in the right headspace, i really wasn’t myself. and i hate that i let myself do that to you. i’m so sorry huening kai, i am. i’m so sorry.” he sits alone on the couch, using the back of his palms to swipe away the tears and beomgyu is quick enough to rush to his best friend’s side.

“w-what were you going th-through?” huening kai stutters, unaware of the hard times his best friend was dealing with.

taehyun looks into yeonjun’s eyes for support.

“i, i can’t—“

“yes you can, taehyun. you can do it. i promise you. tell him what you told me,” yeonjun encourages him, and beomgyu is looking at the older boy clueless.

“i-it’s h-hard.” he cries while beomgyu runs his fingers down taehyun’s cheeks.

“i know it is, babe. i know. but you have to explain to huening kai so he can understand you, love.” beomgyu also begins to encourage taehyun who is afraid to speak up.

“you can do it, hyun. i promise,” yeonjun nods, encouraging him every bit of the way.

“um, fuck...” he sighs, burying his head in his hands before speaking. “just recently, my mom called me and had a talk with me. she was asking how i was doing here at the apartment, and all of a sudden, she asked about huening kai. she asked about how he was doing and all and then she started asking why i spent so much time with him. why i was so affectionate with him, why i’m always with him, why i’m so stuck to him. and i told her it was because he was my best friend, and that’s what best friends do and that i just cared for him so much.

and she released a sigh of relief and told me that if i ever tried to pull some shit and fell in love with a man, that she would not hesitate to disown me. and she thought she was getting that vibe from hyuka and i, but i just treat him like that because he’s like a brother. and i was so fucking scared, because it was scary how quick my own mother was so comfortable with disowning me for my choices. do you know how scary that is? how scary hearing your own mother say that? she’s all i have left for me. she’s all i have, and the thought of losing her was messing with my head. so i tried my best to distance myself from hyuka, even though there weren’t any romantic feelings whatsoever, i wanted to convince myself and my mom that i was attracted to women, even if i’ve never felt it in my life.

and right on time, eunji came in my life. it’s like i took it as a sign or something. it’s funny how she could have came all these years, but instead she comes in at a time like this. and i’m not sure if this was the universe’s way of trying to tell me something, but i wanted to convince myself and my mother that i love a woman.

and while doing that,i hurt the most important person in my life.” he cries, and beomgyu is completely taken aback by the admission as well, that he is unknowing of what to say.

“taehyun, i’m so sorry. you should have told us, love.” soobin reaches out for taehyun’s hand who immediately takes it or support.

“taehyun, fuck. why didn’t you tell me any of this? of course, i’m still so fucking upset, but now that i know why and that it’s not some stupid petty reason, i can understand why you’re acting this way. and i’m not trying to excuse you in any way, but this isn’t something you should hav hidden or taken lightly. i would have understood you way more if you had just told me,” huening kai rushes to taehyun’s side and beomgyu takes it as a queue for him to leave and give the two best friends their space.

“i was scared, okay? i already hurt you so much, my mind was in a fucked up place and i didn’t know how to tell you.” he cries into the crook of huening kai’s neck.

“you do know that i would never care what gender you’re attracted to, right? i never have and never will. and i know that talking about your mother is hard, and losing her is even harder, but if that’s what it takes to be yourself, then you have me. you have me and the hyungs. we’re not leaving you anytime soon and i promise you that.” he whispers in taehyun’s ear, but the room is so silent that even the three other boys could hear it.

“we should let them talk alone.”

* * *

yeonjun and beomgyu return home relieved after taehyun and huening kai have their little talk. it took a while, but once every single thing was talked through, the two boys leave the apartment relieved that everything would finally be going back to normal within their friend group.

but yeonjun could tell something was a little off.

beomgyu went straight to the bathroom to take a shower and brush his teeth, before going straight to yeonjun’s room to go to bed without even greeting the older boy goodnight.

when yeonjun gets out of the shower and is rubbing his hair dry with a towel, he notices beomgyu’s back is turned to him and he is silently scrolling on his phone, blatantly ignoring yeonjun.

yeonjun rubs his hair dry before shutting off the lights and lying on his side of the bed. beomgyu then again, turns around so that his back is facing yeonjun.

“bubs, you okay?” he wraps his arms around beomgyu’s waist, lifting his shirt just an inch or two so that his hand is around beomgyu’s bare waist. his nose is pressed against the back of beomgyu’s neck who then in turn stifles against his touch.

“no, i’m mad at you.” he shifts, trying to shake yeonjun’s touch off of him but all that ever does is make yeonjun hold onto him tighter.

“what, why?” he shrieks, his voice raising an octave or two higher.

“because you yelled at me earlier in front of soobin-hyung, and i was just trying to show that i cared for you. i wasn’t trying to spark an argument, but you raised your voice. you could have been nicer.” he attempts to peal off yeonjun’s hand around his waist from under his shirt, but yeonjun refuses to let go.

“beom, turn around.” yeonjun orders and the younger boy does.

“what.”

“i told you i was sorry, okay? it was my fault, i’ll own up to it. i know you were only trying to care for me, but i let my anger out on you. and i know we apologized to each other already back at the apartment, but i can tell you were still a bit bothered by it. and if you are, you have to tell me, okay? don’t hide it from hyung. if it’s bothering you, tell me. i’ll listen to you.” he entangles his fingers into beomgyu’s locks.

“y’know... i try so hard to be mad at you sometimes just to mess with your head, but did you know you are the most sweetest gentlemen ever? like i swear you’re perfect, hyung.” he teases, leaving a peck on his jaw.

“stop, don’t flatter me.” yeonjun chuckles.

“but hyung, i also wanted to talk about something to you...” beomgyu trails off, wrapping his arms around yeonjun’s waist.

“oh, okay? go ahead, babe.”

“for our breakup... i was wondering if we could start plotting it or something?”

yeonjun’s heart aches just a little.

“o-oh... i mean, yeah of course. but i don’t think i want to talk about it right now. it’s pretty late.” he dodges the topic, and his fingers stop carding through beomgyu’s hair. “plus, we’ve got to keep it for at least three more weeks because jen really needs us for the project.”

“oh, i mean yeah of course we could still help jen. but like i want to get it done as soon as possible. i just don’t think there’s anymore purpose of doing this when i already know what jihyun thinks of me. which by the way, thank you so much for doing this since it seemed to have worked.” he traces over yeonjun’s skin on his jaw. he leans into the touch. “he invited us to have lunch with him tomorrow at the cafe before one of our classes so i was thinking of doing something super minor. like a small argument maybe?” he shrugs, hands traveling down to yeonjun’s chest.

“yeah, we’ll see...” yeonjun trails off with his eyes closed.

“why are you not in the conversation right now. do you not care?” beomgyu asks the boy.

“no, no. beomgyu, i told you i just didn’t want to talk about it right now since i had a long day of work and had to talk to the boys. i’m sorry if it seemed that way, i’m just a little tired. but i promise we can do a little act in front of jihyun tomorrow. i’m just a little out of it to talk about it right now,” he presses his cheek against beomgyu’s forehead to signify that he is ready to sleep.

“right, sorry. i’m sorry if this is annoying you. but of course.”

“goodnight, angel.”

“goodnight, hyung.”

* * *

and as planned, they did have lunch with jihyun in the cafe.

“hey beomgyu,” the man’s smile immediately grows far too wide as he sees beomgyu sit down at the table.

“oh, hey man.” he says to yeonjun, a little less enthusiastically than he did with greeting beomgyu.

in the car, they had to quickly plan a fight about something to argue. they had to think about something that was easy for them to argue about and beomgyu suggested the topic of yeonjun not taking care of himself much since it was a pretty easy topic for them to fight on.

“hey, jihyun.” he quietly says.

he makes sure to sit at least a couple of inches away from beomgyu to signify the distance and tense tension of it all.

“are you gonna eat or not?” beomgyu atrempts to say in a careless tone.

“i told you already that i wasn’t fucking hungry,” yeonjun rolls his eyes, and jihyun looks up at him once the profanity escapes his lips.

“okay well you don’t need to get angry. i was just asking.” beomgyu chimes in, until jen walks up to their table.

“hey guys!” she chirps, holding her camera in her hand.

“hey jen, how’s the project going?” yeonjun questions the beaming girl who then enthusiastically shakes her head up and down.

“oh! it’s going good! i’m almost done. i’ve gotten a lot of candid pictures of you guys on campus, and some i even took when i saw you guys on the street. i hope that doesn’t sound weird!” she bounces on her toes while twiddling with her camera.

“no, of course not! do what you have to do,” beomgyu smiles are her meekly. “did you need anything from us?”

“actually, yeah. i just had a few questions.” she pulls her little notebook from out of her backpack. “since the end of my project is nearing, all i really need is that scheduled photoshoot i need from you guys. any day you’re free you could just text me. you guys could bring any items that are special to you within your relationship and i could take some snaps of it. but i also had one important question to see if your comfortable with it.” she nervously chuckles.

“a lot of people from the past had declined this offer, which i see why because it is a little uncomfortable for some people, and you don’t have to say yes. but in order to show intimacy and true love, i wanted to know if you two were comfortable with kissing in front of the camera? i mean, of course you are not obligated to say yes but-”

“oh, yeah of course. it’s not a problem!” beomgyu interrupts her and yeonjun chokes up on his own saliva.

was he hearing correctly?

“perfect. sorry, just wanted to check in with that but thank you guys. i hope you have a good rest of your day.” she waves off before beomgyu returns the same gesture.

“you too, lovely.” yeonjun waves back before she disappears.

jihyun just looks back and forth at them awkwardly.

“so jihyun, how’s your classes?” beomgyu tries to create a conversation and yeonjun is coming up with ways in his head to start a mini argument that would seem believable to jihyun.

“oh, they’re doing okay. kinda stressful but i’m hanging on,” he smirks, laughing as he brings his bottom lip in-between his teeth and yeonjun could swear he’s about to throw up at the sight of it.

“oh? you’re pacing yourself and taking care of yourself though, right?” beomgyu questions him with concern in his voice.

“yeah, i am. don’t worry. i take long breaks and give myself a rest when i’m pushing myself too much,” he responds back, picking at his food and beomgyu takes this as a perfect opportunity to say his first hit at yeonjun.

“oh, that’s good. cause _some_ people don’t know how to do that,” beomgyu takes a jab and yeonjun isn’t aware as to why he’s so offended at the fake argument.

“what? is that supposed to a jab at me or something? because if you want to say something then don’t be childish and indirect me, and instead say it to me.” yeonjun spits back with fire, and beomgyu’s eyes grow wide because he’s unaware if this was still a fake argument or a real one.

“you’re the one who doesn’t know how to fucking take care of yourself. you always push yourself harder instead of giving yourself a break. that’s toxic. you’re overworking yourself.” beomgyu side eyes yeonjun.

jihyun sits up stiffly, eyes traveling to beomgyu and yeonjun back and forth unaware of what to say.

“uh, yeah man...” he clears his throat. “you gotta give yourself time to rest.”

“you weren’t a part of this.” yeonjun sneers at him from across the table, and even beomgyu’s eyes widen.

“woah, man. i was just tryna help.” he holds his hands up in defense.

“hey, don’t be rude.” the younger boy scolds yeonjun.

“well when he stops butting in my business maybe i will.” he answers back, hardly even looking at beomgyu.

“and when you start taking care of yourself and stop worrying the people around you, maybe he will too.” beomgyu’s shoots back, and for some reason that one seemed to hurt more than the others.

“woah, are you guys okay or something? cause i can leave...” jihyun nervously says, scratching the back of his neck.

“yeah, he’s just being immature and is trying to start an argument. we’ve been quite rocky recently.” beomgyu explains to jihyun.

“okay, well how about you come with me and clear your mind?”

“okay.”

and so beomgyu walks away, leaving yeonjun at the table to be lonely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sooo... what did you guys think??? again, i’m so sorry if it’s a little sloppy or rushed. it’s 8am and i spent all night writing it so that i could give u guys a chapter so i hope it wasn’t as bad. 
> 
> i should go to bed now hahah
> 
> but again, i have a new taegyu au angst one shot called “history is all we are” so please support it if you read that typa thing! 
> 
> thank you for reading ! 
> 
> see you next chapter <3


	21. fake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone!! how is everyone doing??? 
> 
> we are nearing towards the middle of this book now so hopefully this chapter will be okay
> 
> i’ve been semi busy recently so i’m sorry if this chapter seems rushed!! it is not yet beta’d or edited yet either bc i’ve been super busy so i’m sorry if there are any errors 
> 
> there will not be any qotds today i’m sorry:( i was too busy to think of some but instead if u guys have any questions for me, feel free to comment them down below!! 
> 
> happy reading!! <3

the following day, as jinae and yeonjun are closing up the shop for the afternoon shift, yeonjun finds himself boring holes into the coffee counter as he’s wiping it down. he sees his four little brothers outside on the university benches waiting for him to get off shift but he is far too enmeshed within his own thoughts to be focused on his actual task at hand.

from the corner of his eyes, he can see jinae stealing glances at him as she’s sweeping the floor and she’s wearing a mockingly smirk on her face. yeonjun brushes it off and sprays down disinfectant on the counter before wiping it down. his head is running thoughts which is going circles and circles causing him to slack a little.

“hey pretty boy, what’s on your mind, huh?” jinae nudges his hip as she pokes it, causing yeonjun to teasingly push her back a tad bit harder than he expected.

“i don’t know...” he huffs, hanging the rag on his shoulder while he closes the register.

“i think i do... it’s beomgyu, huh?” she smirks, putting a halt to her sweeping as she bring both of her palms to to top of the broom and uses it to lean on.

“wowww... do you want a cookie?” he sarcastically smiles at the petite woman before sticking his tongue out at her, to which she stifles an eye roll back.

“hey, come one... i know our shift ends in like what?” she glances at the watch on her wrist, “nine minutes? but c’mon, talk to me. i told you that you always can. and i don’t like seeing you sad. you’re my work husband and we’re supposed to be having fun but i can’t help but realize the frown you’ve been wearing your whole shift.” she frowns at yeonjun, jutting her bottom lip out.

jinae’s bubbly personality immediately brought yeonjun to crack a smile. something about this woman was just far too infectious for him to resist. he just couldn’t.

“what? so does that make you my work wife?” he smirks as he counts the money, being sure to double check the amount before putting it back and locking the register.

“uh, yes. duh... we’re both gay anyways.” she giggles, cupping her mouth before putting away the broom and stocking inventory. “so tell me,” she walks over to yeonjun who is looking down at her. jinae rests her elbows on the counter and rests her chin on the palms of her hands, “what’s on your mind? what’s wrong?”

he releases a loud sigh before looking at the four boys outside of the coffee shop who are waiting for him. his releases a sigh even deeper when he realizes taehyun and huening kai are attempting to ruin soobin’s hair, but the sight of beomgyu is what upset him the most. beomgyu is disconnected from the chaos of the three and instead he is smiling and giggling down at his phone, his little thumbs typing away.

“okay, well. if you don’t wanna talk about it, i wont push you. but i’m gonna head to the back room and gather my stuff so i could leave. if you end up changing your mind, you can tell me,” she smiles at him, reaching for the strings at her back to remove the apron.

“it’s just...” he scratches the back of his neck, following jinae to the back room as the both get out of their aprons.

“mhm...” she encourages him, cleaning the takeout around the back room table that her and yeonjun ate during lunch.

“it’s just that, beomgyu keeps bringing up the idea of breaking up for the fake dating shit, and so yesterday we planned to have a fake fight in front of jihyun so that the breakup doesn’t seem too fake and abrupt. and then i don’t know if it was just me but the fake fight suddenly felt like it was real now and i haven’t spoken to him since yesterday. i mean he texted me good morning before my shift and said good luck but that’s basically it.” yeonjun hangs his apron on the hook before grabbing his bag and slinging it across his shoulder.

“oh man... well, how is the fake break up making you feel?” she pouts, doing any last second clean ups before she follows yeonjun and grabs her bag as well, flipping off the back room lights.

“i’m gonna be honest with you... but i don’t know why, it feels like a real break up. it’s fucking stupid, i know but like why does it hurt as if it’s a real breakup?” his voice edges, finding the strength not to break.

jinae and yeonjun clock out and put their codes, locking the door and take the back exit to stall some time.

they stand outside of the back store to talk before walking outside near the benches, close enough to be see the four boys in sight but far enough for them to not see.

“hey... babe, it’s not stupid... it’s not stupid at all, okay?” she softens her voice, hand grazing yeonjun’s arm as a sense of comfort. “do you want me to tell you what i think?” she offers her voice.

“enlighten me.”

“i think that it’s hurting you to give him to someone new. i think you don’t want to see him with someone different and it hurts. which is completely understandable, babe. i know this whole thing is some fake dating shit but was it really all fake to you?” she leans against the wall crossing her arms and she shields her eyes from the sun.

yeonjun doesn’t know what to think.

he’s seriously starting to think that jinae is studying to become either a therapist or a psychic, because she was god awfully good at doing both. it’s as if she read his mind or she was giving some kick ass advice that yeonjun was unable to get from anyone else. she gave so much comfort to yeonjun he can’t even describe howmuch he wanted to coddle her right now.

“that’s the thing... i hate how real it felt to me because i know it was all fake to him,” he gnaws on his lower lip to stop himself from crying. it’s not that he was uncomfortable to show his vulnerability to jinae. he just refused to cry in public where there was a risk of many strangers, and possibly the boys seeing him as well.

“look at me...” she softly says, “what you’re feeling is completely valid, okay? and it hurts me to see you this way. you were very selfless to agree to this but you can’t let it drain you. i wont let it.” she presses her lips together into a thin line. “plus, any guy who would reject you would be so fucking stupid to do so. you’re literally the sweetest boy ever, and you care so much for people, and i swear to god you’re so attractive i’m not even joking. like i love girls, but i would definitely date you if i were attracted to boys.” she teases as she smirks, poking his hip causing yeonjun to shriek.

“oh, so you think i’m cute huh?” he makes kissy noises causing her to roll her eyes.

“hey, don’t get too ahead of yourself now. i’m still very much gay.” she giggles, pushing her hair back from her face.

“but, please. text me, okay? i know it’s kind of a hard topic to talk to the boys about but you can always text me about it. don’t feel like you have to feel this alone.” she pulls her phone out as she receives a text, and yeonjun assumes she has places to be.

“but listen, the boys look like they’re waiting for you and i have somewhere to be, but that doesn’t mean you can’t talk to me about it. if you ever need an escape we can always have sleepovers and do face masks and watch movies. god that would be so fun!” she shrieks just at the thought of it.

“alright. thank you, bub. and yes we should definitely do that soon.” he leans in and wraps his arms around her waist while she wraps hers around his neck. “i’m gonna head to the boys now, okay?”

“of course. i’m heading that direction anyways so why don’t we go together?”

yeonjun and jinae then leave the back exit of the store and walk around it, heading straight for the grass area of the campus where all of the benches are. and on one of those benches sat his four little brothers. huening kai and taehyun were still very much so pestering soobin who looked absolutely done with it and beomgyu on the other hand was too invested in whatever he was smiling at down on his phone.

“look at them, they’re so cute.” jinae giggles, pointing at huening kai and taehyun who are pestering soobin.

“yeonjunnie-hyung!” taehyun exclaims, waving his hand as he stops pestering soobin for a moment. huening kai then snaps his head up and his eyes disappear into thin lines when he sees his older brother.

sometimes, yeonjun loves that he took his coffee shop job because every single time he clocked out of his shift, he felt like a father coming home back to his child. the immense exclamations that his friends always showed him, as well as the instant happiness on their face as soon as they see yeonjun brightens his day just a tad bit.

“hyung! finally you’re off, god i’m dying here,” soobin cries, fixing his hair from the mess that the two made.

“alright, my car’s over there. i’m gonna get going now. bye, pretty boy.” she smiles at yeonjun before waving off and placing a kiss on yeonjun’s cheek. at the sound of her lips smacking on top of yeonjun’s skin, beomgyu’s head shoots up and he gives jinae an unreadable look.

“bye, boys! i hope we get to know each other soon!” she waves at them before pulling her keys out of her bag.

“bye, noona!” huening kai and taehyun say, waving at her and soobin bids her a goodbye as well.

beomgyu doesn’t say anything, and instead keeps his eyes glued to his phone.

“how was work, hyung?” huening kai asks yeonjun.

“stressful but okay. i’m glad i have company at work otherwise i would’ve been dying if i were to handle it alone. jinae is good company.” he explains, scooting his bum inbetween taehyun and beomgyu.

he looks at the table and sees that the boys have bought food for themselves while waiting and he can’t seem to remember when the last time was when he had a decent meal.

“by the way, beomgyu-hyung bought you a smoothie and a sandwich. he kept going on and on about feeding you and taking care of you so here...” huening kai hands him his food from across the table as he’s sat on the other bench.

“thank you, bub.” he smiles at beomgyu.

“yeah, sure...” he hardly even engages with yeonjun’s conversation.

“by the way, hyung. jinae is adorable... is she into you?” taehyun teasingly wiggles his eyebrows and yeonjun almost chokes on his smoothie.

yeonjun coughs on whatever he chokes on and tries his best to withheld the laugh he’s about to let out. if jinae were here to hear that, they’d both burst out into fits of laughter, but he couldn’t do that right now. the boys were looking at him in absolute confusion and only then does he realize that the boys think jinae is straight. they assume she’s attracted to men which is why yeonjun wants to laugh so bad. but he had enough respect for his friend to keep her secret and not reveal it since it wasn’t his place.

though the stares he was receiving from the boy were just pure confusion.

“oh... no, trust me when i say this but she definitely isn’t.” he giggles, grabbing a bite of his sandwich.

“i don’t know... she looks pretty touchy with you.” beomgyu tilts his head to the side, abandoning the text conversation he was having on his phone.

“yeah, hyung. she even kissed your cheek.” soobin adds on while the two youngest boys nod their heads in agreement.

“oh, come on... we’re just affectionate like that.” he shrugs it off, pulling out his phone as he gets ready to text jinae the situation that just occurred.

“sure...” beomgyu mumbles under his breath.

“uh anyways...” huening kai nervously chuckles, “i have something to tell everyone...” his tone shifts slightly a bit higher this time.

“oh? and that is?” taehyun begins to grow curious, looking at huening kai from across the table.

yeonjun stifles a smile at the interaction between huening kai and taehyun. it was definitely something he missed seeing. seeing the two youngest of their friend group finally make up again and resume to being best friends was a sight that yeonjun loved observing. never in a million years would he have thought that he’d say this but he missed their bickering so much.

“uh... the guy jungwoo i was talking to... he kinda told me that he likes me,” huening kai nervously chuckles once again, looking specifically at yeonjun knowing how over-protective he gets about these kind of things.

yeonjun chokes on his food for the second time today.

taehyun also seems to be very taken aback by the admission as well.

“o-oh? well that’s great, r-right?” taehyun is the first to speak up though his tone lacks far too much sincerity.

“aw, hyuka that’s so cute,” soobin coos, teasingly coddling the youngest boy while beomgyu joins in on the teasing as well.

yeonjun wears a smug look and is still thinking of what to say, being too overprotective over his little brother.

“this the guy you’ve been bringing over your apartment for projects?” yeonjun sternly asks, keeping his eyes glued to the phone as he questions huening kai.

“uh, yes...” huening kai meekly says, sinking deeper into taehyun’s arm to hide.

“okay, why don’t you bring him over sometime? it’d be cool to meet him,” yeonjun asks huening kai who widens his eyes at the response.

“really?”

“yeah, that would be nice...” yeonjun nods his head and smiles at the younger boy whose cheeks seem to be turning red.

“yeah...” taehyun agrees, eyes locked on the floor. “anyways, i just forgot that i had plans with eunji in a bit so i have to leave in like five minutes. i’ll catch you guys later, okay?” he dismisses himself, shoving his phone in his back pocket before getting up.

“oh? you’re not staying?” soobin looks up at him.

“i wish i could, but i forgot i had some stuff to do with eunji. take care okay?”

“bye, taehyunnie.” beomgyu waves are him before watching the boy disappear into the ocean of people on campus.

“hmm... that was weird.”

* * *

later that night when beomgyu and yeonjun arrive at their apartment, he could sense that something is off once again.

beomgyu heads straight for his room, and that’s when yeonjun knew something was off right away. beomgyu hardly ever goes into his room, reason being he basically shares a room with yeonjun. he only ever goes inside his room to get something or to grab more pillows for his side of yeonjun’s bed. so when he stays in there for more than an hour without coming out, yeonjun begins to think he’s done something wrong.

later at dinner, beomgyu begins eating as soon as he sees yeonjun washing his dishes. usually, beomgyu would eat during the same time as yeonjun and would never eat alone, claiming he felt lonely while doing so, so yeonjun grew severely suspicious when beomgyu began avoiding him again.

“hey, did i do something wrong?” he softly voices out when beomgyu walks into his room to grab his pillows.

“no.” he bluntly says, attempting to go to his room with the two pillows in his hand, but yeonjun stops him.

“hey, wait. can you stay here first?” yeonjun asks beomgyu, walking to his door to close it and beomgyu immediately flared at him. “you’ve been avoiding me like hell today, is everything okay?”

“yeah? what makes you think it’s not?”

“i don’t know, you’ve been super off today. barely even talked to me, didn’t eat dinner together, stayed in your room which you never do, and now you’re sleeping in there too. ever since we moved here you’ve slept in there a total of like four times and three of the four times was because we fought. please tell me if there’s something wrong,” he pleads, sitting on his bed as he looks at beomgyu who is standing next to his door, ready to leave.

“if this is because of our fake fight last night, i’m sorry, okay?”

beomgyu squints at him and releases a bitter chuckle. “what? why the fuck would i be mad at that? are you serious? it was a fake fight why would that make me angry?”

yeonjun pulls his bottom lip in between his teeth, “o-oh... i just thought that... i don’t know i just thought that it upset you because to me it felt like we were getting all personal and the fake fight turned real.”

“seriously? i’m not upset at the fake fight we had, are you kidding! i mean yeah maybe a little because, yes it did turn a little personal but whatever, it’s behind us.” he raises his voice at yeonjun which seems to shock him. “hyung, this whole this is fucking fake. the fight we had is fucking fake, this whole relationship is fucking fake, my feelings for you are fucking fake so if you feel something about this whole thing then it’s not my fault!” he raises his voice even higher, exhausted at the constant back and forth he and yeonjun always have.

yeonjun swallows the lump in his throat.

of course it’s fake.

everything about what they were doing was fake. from the hand holding, to the kisses, to the hugs, to the relationship. none of this stemmed from real feelings and maybe that’s why yeonjun was hurt. maybe yeonjun was finally ready to admit that he had deep feelings for his best friend no matter how much he pushed it away. he was finally tired of holding his hand and kissing him, knowing at the end of the day that none of it was real to him. it was too much for him to endure at this point, he finally broke.

“i’m more upset at the fact that a lot more people have been coming up to me asking if you’re with jinae now. i told you before this fake dating thing that dating other people would be a risk, even if it’s in secret. and i told you that if you wanted to date someone, to tell me so we could call it off.” he drops his pillows and walks closer to the bed where yeonjun is.

“can we fucking stop the fake dating talk for one fucking second! god, it’s all i ever hear it’s fucking draining me. i don’t know how many fucking times i have to tell you but jinae and i are not a thing and we never will be! if people fucking assume that i’m seeing jinae or am cheating on you then let them fucking talk, because that’s all people do! they fucking talk all the time. but you and i know what’s real and not so that should be the only thing you care about. i would never cheat on you even if this were real. she and i are just fucking friends. and even if i were to ever date her, why would it be a problem anyways!” he speaks from his heart, with extreme volume that he swears it’s about to shatter in any minute. the amount of frustration laced in his voice was undeniably too much for him.

beomgyu looks at him, unable of what to say. yeonjun can tell that the boy was angry as he were balling his fists out of frustration in hopes to refrain him from lashing out.

“it doesn’t matter to me. i don’t care who the fuck you date,” he spits back.

“then why the fuck are we even having this conversation right now!” he yells in frustration, regretting raising his voice as soon as he sees beomgyu’s eyes drop.

“look i just wanted to check up on you because you were avoiding me, you always do and never end up telling me why. and i assumed it’s because of the fake fight we had but now i don’t even know why the fuck we’re arguing. it’s fucking stupid. this whole thing is fucking stupid,” he bitterly chuckles, pacing back and forth in his bedroom.

“stupid? if this whole thing is so fucking stupid why’d you agree to do it in the first place then?”

“because, i fucking care about you! why fucking else would i do it? did you know i would literally drop every fucking thing im doing just to make you happy? just to know that you’re doing okay and are satisfied with everything? because i know you might not be used to people doing that for you but i will always do that. no matter what i’m doing i wouldnt think twice to do shit for you! that’s why i fucking did this even though it’s draining, because i knew you’d be happy in the end.” he stands up, and looks beomgyu deep in the eyes to show his sincerity. he fights back the second lump in his throat blocking his way of words.

“god, fuck this. let me know when we could do the fake break up so i could get this shit over with.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ummm ummm so as u can seeeee haha the angst is kinda coming??? tell me what u think so far of what’s happening and i’m sorry if this book is getting boring but thank u for those who still read it 
> 
> thank u so much for 7k and being the top 3 beomjun fics based on reads and hits thank u sooo much 
> 
> again sorry if this was a little sloppy and a little minor announcement, if you’re into twitter aus i have one on there called “anonymous” and it is a taegyu au!! if ur interested tweet @ me and tell me ur thoughts. because of the multiple aus i have, i apologize if i start uploading every other week. 
> 
> see you next chapter!! <3


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